flr. 


V 


i^j  -i 

in 


ALEXANDER    II. —CZAR    OK    RUSSIA. 


ABDUL-HAMID     II. 

SULTAN   OF  TURKEY. 


THE 


WAE  IN  THE  EAST. 


ILLUSTRATED   HISTORY  OF  THE   CONFLICT 


RUSSIA  AND  TURKEY, 


WITH  A 


REVIEW  OF  THE  EASTERN  QUESTION. 


BY    PROF.   A.    J.    SCHEM, 

Assistant  Superintendent  of  Public  Schools,  New  York  City;  Late  Professor  of  Ancient  nnd 

Modern  Languages  in  Dickinson  College;  Editor  of  a  "General  Cyclopedia,"  of  the 

"  Statistics  of  the  World,"  of  the  "  American  Ecclesiastical  Year  Book; " 

Associate  Editor  of  the  "  Cyclopedia  of  Education,"  Etc.,  Etc. 


Illu^tfkted  witlj 


PUBLISHED  BY 

H.    S.    GOODSPEED    &   CO., 

NEW   YORK,   &   CINCINNATI,    O. 

E.   H.  JONES,   ST.   JOHN,   N.  B. ;  J.  O.  ROBINSON,   LONDON,   ONT. ; 
B.  R.  STURGES,  BOSTON  ;  J.  W.  GOODSPEED,   CHICAGO. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1878,  by 

H.  8.  GOODSPEED 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


PREFACE, 


THE  author  of  this  work  has  made  the  Eastern  Question  for 
nearly  twenty  years  a  subject  of  constant  and  special  study.  As  a 
member  of  the  editorial  staff  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  and 
contributor  to  other  daily  and  weekly  papers  of  New  York,  he  has 
had  many  occasions  to  discuss  it  editorially  in  its  various  aspects, 
and  as  editor  of  and  contributor  to  several  cyclopaedias  and  other 
publications,  he  has  made  himself  familiar  with  the  entire  literature 
on  this  subject.  A  large  amount  of  information  had  in  this  way 
been  accumulated  when  the  new  Eastern  war  began.  The  general 
interest  which  the  civilized  world  takes  in  this  new  effort  to  solve 
the  Eastern  Question,  appeared  to  him  a  suitable  occasion  to  com- 
bine the  results  of  his  former  studies  with  a  history  of  the  Eastern 
war,  into  a  comprehensive  work  on  the  Eastern  Question  and  the 
Eastern  war. 

While  every  part  of  the  subject  embraced  within  the  scope  of 
this  work  may  be  supposed  to  enlist  the  attention  of  our  readers, 
the  interest  of  all  undoubtedly  culminates  in  the  history  of  the 
Russo-Turkish  war.  This  great  conflict  in  the  East  ranks  with  the 
Civil  war  in  our  own  country,  and  the  Franco-German  war,  among 
the  most  memorable  wars  which  the  present  generation  has  wit- 
nessed or  is  likely  to  witness.  A  compendium  of  such  a  war,  it  is 
therefore  believed,  will  be  a  welcome  volume  in  the  library  of  many 
households.  This  work  gives  due  prominence  to  the  more  interest- 
ing features  of  the  conflict.  It  gives  an  account  of  every  battle, 
using  in  the  description  of  the  more  important  battles,  graphic 

(3) 

2045634 


4  PREFACE. 

accounts  of  eye-witnesses.  Its  biographical  notices  of  distinguished 
Kussian  and  Turkish  generals  are  very  full,  and  embrace  almost 
every  name  that  is  mentioned  in  the  progress  of  the  war — as  a 
glance  at  the  pages  of  the  book  will  show.  A  distinguished  artist, 
who  has  resided  in  both  Turkey  and  Russia,  and  who  is  familiar 
with  the  customs  and  manners  of  the  different  races  who  inhabit 
these  countries,  as  well  as  with  the  places  and  fortifications  in  both, 
has  designed  many  of  the  illustrations  which  embellish  this  book. 

The  narrative  of  the  war  is  preceded  by  a  historical  outline 
of  the  Eastern  Question;  a  brief  sketch  of  the  past  and  present 
condition  of  both  Kussia  and  Turkey,  and  a  history  of  the  Bosnian 
insurrection  of  1875,  and  the  Servian  war  of  1876.  Conjointly, 
these  chapters  contain  information  most  needed  for  understanding 
the  development  of  the  Eastern  Question  prior  to  1876,  and  enable 
the  reader  to  conceive  a  clear  idea  of  the  causes,  importance,  and 
aim  of  the  war. 

The  peace  which  has  been  concluded  between  Russia  and  Turkey 
can  not  possibly  end  the  Eastern  Question,  but  is  more  likely  to  be 
the  beginning  of  a  series  of  new  questions  and  conflicts  of  which  it 
is  impossible  to  predict,  or  even  to  guess,  the  duration  or  the  end. 
Even  now,  while  this  book  is  going  to  press,  and  while  the  ink  with 
which  the  Treaty  of  San  Stefano  was  signed  is  hardly  yet  dry,  the 
air  is  full  of  the  noise  of  conflicting  demands  and  of  rumors  of  wars, 
in  which  all  the  principal  nations  of  Europe  are  in  danger  of  being 
involved.  The  so-called  peace  has  brought  only  dissatisfaction. 
The  demand  for  its  modification  in  the  interests  of  other  powers 
than  Russia  went  up  even  before  its  terms  were  fully  known.  Even 
the  former  tributary  States  of  Turkey,  which,  having  gained  their 
independence,  might  have  been  supposed  to  have  received  the 
greatest  benefits  from  the  treaty,  find  that  they  have  reason  to  feel 
wronged,  or  to  believe  that  their  rights  and  interests  have  not  been 
properly  regarded ;  the  claims  of  one  State,  which  deserved  as  high 
consideration  as  those  of  any  of  the  others,  and  which  enjoyed  a 
wide  and  warm  sympathy  in  Western  and  Southern  Europe,  have 


PREFACE. 


5 


been  ignored.  Two  powerful  nations,  which  had  great  interests  at 
stake  in  the  adjustment  of  the  affairs  of  Turkey,  find  themselves, 
under  the  new  arrangements,  dictated  by  Russia  in  the  presence  of 
a  situation  which  they  can  not  tolerate.  Their  claims  are  acknowl- 
edged to  have  more  or  less  of  justice  by  their  neighboring  powers, 
and  even  by  Germany,  which  has  been  regarded  as  the  adviser  of 
Russia,  and  its  supporter,  in  a  moral  sense.  The  same  dispatches 
which  report  the  diplomatic  remonstrances  of  these  powers  and  the 
replies,  the  propositions  and  counter-propositions  which  are  circu- 
lating among  the  Courts  of  Europe,  bring  accounts  of  their  measures 
to  support  their  claims  by  force,  if  they  should  adjudge  that  neces- 
sary or  expedient.  In  the  meantime  Russia  keeps  its  armies  in 
front  of  Constantinople,  and  England  approaches  it  with  its  war- 
vessels,  either  party  being  determined  not  to  retire  till  the  questions 
at  dispute  have  been  settled. 

The  parties  to  the  new  controversy  have  great  resources  and 
powers  of  endurance,  and  are  nearly  evenly  balanced.  They  have 
also  great  schemes  at  heart,  and  vital  interests  at  stake,  all  of  which 
are  involved  in  the  present  dispute.  The  contest,  if  they  should 
come  to  blows,  will  be  long  and  desperate.  It  will,  in  its  turn, 
cause  new  questions  to  be  brought  up,  and  may  lead  to  new  con- 
flicts, involving  as  principals  parties  which  hold  only  a  secondary 
place  in  the  present  discussions ;  for  a  protracted  war  on  the  borders 
of  Turkey  can  not  fail  to  arouse  the  diversified  nationalities  of 
Austria  to  an  effort  to  realize  their  aspirations. 

It  is  therefore  evident  that  the  Russo-Turkish  war  of  IST'T-'TS 
was  only  a  single  incident  in  a  long  chain  of  events ;  that  the  ques- 
tions which  seemed  most  immediately  involved  in  it,  were  only  as 
the  single  threads  of  an  entangled  net  of  international  complications 
and  issues,  of  which  the  unraveling  has  hardly  yet  begun.  It  is 
impossible  to  understand  adequately  either  the  events  of  the  war  or 
the  questions  without  having  first  acquired  some  comprehension  of 
the  events  and  complications  and  issues  to  which  they  are'  related, 
and  of  which  they  are  essentially  a  part.  The  effort  is  made  to 


6  PREFACE. 

give  such  a  comprehension,  not  only  in  the  introductory  historical 
chapters  which  lead  up  to  the  war,  but  further  in  the  chapters  fol- 
lowing the  narrative  of  the  war. 

In  these  chapters  are  treated  the  important  issues  connected  with 
the  Eastern  Question,  which  yet  await  their  solution ;  the  decline 
of  the  Ottoman  power,  and  the  deterioration  of  the  Turkish  race, 
which  promise  to  produce  for  it  further  losses  of  territory  and  con- 
tinued enf eeblement ;  the  physical  and  moral  condition  of  the 
Christian  nationalities  of  Turkey,  and  their  probable  capacity  to 
build  up  self-supporting  States  to  take  the  place  of  the  Turks ;  the 
prospective  growth  of  Russia,  and  the  aims  and  tendencies  of  Pan- 
slavism  ;  the  dangers  which  the  co-existence  of  so  many  discordant 
races  involves,  not  only  for  Turkey,  but  also  for  Austria ;  the  con- 
flicting interests  of  the  two  greatest  Empires  of  the  world,  the 
British  and  the  Russian,  in  Asia.  Finally,  a  suggestion  is  attempted 
of  a  method  in  -which  a  final  solution  of  the  Eastern  and  all  other 
international  complications  may  be  reached  in  the  general  recogni- 
tion of  the  principle  of  self-government  by  nationalities. 

As  the  Eastern  Question  is  by  far  the  most  important  of  all  the 
international  complications  which  keep  the  Old  World  in  an  un- 
settled condition  ;  and  as  for  many  years  to  come  it  can  hardly  fail 
to  constitute  a  conspicuous  and  interesting  element  in  the  history  of 
Turkey,  Russia,  Austria,  England,  and  many  other  States  of  Europe, 
Asia,  and  Africa,  a  full  statement  of  all  issues  involved  in  it  will 
conserve,  it  is  hoped,  for  this  work  some  value  as  a  reliable  guide 
through  the  continuing  difficulties  of  the  Eastern  Question,  even 
when  the  interest  in  the  bloody  war  shall  have  begun  to  subside. 

A.  J.  S. 


CONTENTS. 


PACTS 

PREFACE 3 

INTRODUCTION. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  EASTERN  QUESTION  AND  THE  EASTERN  WABS. 

The  War  of  1877-'78  one  of  the  most  important  Wars  of  the  Nineteenth  Century— 
Vastness  of  the  territory  involved — Great  Issues  at  stake — Eastern  Europe  on 
the  eve  of  a  Radical  Transformation 21 


FIKST   BOOK. 

TURKEY,  RUSSIA,  AND  THE  EASTERN  QUESTION 
PRIOR  TO  187T. 

CHAPTER    I. 

A  HISTORICAL  OUTLINE  OP  THE  EASTERN  QUESTION. 

The  Crusades — Conquest  of  Eastern  Europe  by  the  Turks — The  Turks  Threatening 
the  Christian  Nations  of  Europe — Emperor  Maximilian's  Plan  of  a  General 
Coalition  against  the  Turks— Decay  of  Turkey  and  Rise  of  the  Russian  Empire 
— Aspirations  of  the  Christian  Races  of  Turkey  for  the  Recovery  of  their  Inde- 
pendence -History  of  the  Russian  Policy  in  the  East — The  Interest  of  Austria 
and  England  in  the  Eastern  Question — International  Treaties  and  Joint  Action 
of  the  Christian  Powers— The  Great  Crisis 27 

CHAPTER  II. 

HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  RUSSIA. 

Origin  of  the  Russians — The  Republic  of  Novgorod — Occupation  of  Russia  by  the 
Mongol  Tartars — Rise  of  the  Principality  of  Moscow — Ivan  the  Great,  the  First 
Prince  who  called  Himself  Czar — Ivan  the  Terrible — Michael  Romanoff— Peter 
the  Great — Anna — Elizabeth — Catherine  the  Great — Alexander  I. — Nicholas  I. — 

Alexander  II 52 

(7) 


8  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  III. 

CONDITION    OF    RUSSIA. 

The  Races  of  Russia— Backwardness  of  Civilization— Abolition  of  Serfdom— Public 
Instruction— Russia  the  only  State  in  Europe  without  a  Representative  Form 
of  Government— The  Policy  of  Russianization— Religious  Intolerance— Agricul- 
tural Resources — Scarcity  of  Large  Towns— The  Village  Commune— The  Pro- 
vincial Assembly— The  Russian  Church  and  the  Dissenters— The  Army,  Navy, 
and  Finances  of  Russia 63 

CHAPTER  IV. 

HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  TURKEY. 

Origin  of  the  Turks— The  Seljukian  Empire— Rise  of  the  Ottoman  Turks— Conquest 
of  Constantinople — Growth  of  the  Turkish  Empire  in  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa 
— Turkish  Policy  with  regard  to  Conquered  Nations — Climax  of  the  Ottoman 
Power  under  Solyman — Spell  of  Turkish  Bravery  Broken — Struggle  of  the  Sub- 
jected Races  for  Independence— The  Sick  Man 91 

CHAPTER    V. 

PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE  AND  THE  OSMANLI  TURKS. 

The  Ruling  Nationality  in  Turkey — Distribution  of  Races — What  Prevents  the  As- 
similation of  the  Ottomans  with  the  More  Civilized  Nations — Abortive  At- 
tempts at  Reform — Religious  Toleration — Work  of  Protestant  and  Catholic 
Missionaries — The  Educational  Condition  of  Turkey — Agricultural  and  Mineral 
Resources — Tenure  of  Land— The  Army  and  Navy— Desperate  Condition  of  the 
Finances 101 

CHAPTER    VI. 

THE  TRIBUTARY  STATES  AND  THE  SUBJECT  PEOPLES  OF  TURKEY. 

Rumania — Union  of  the  Principalities  of  Moldavia  and  Wallachia  into  one  State — 
Education,  Literature,  Army,  and  Finances — Characteristics  of  the  People, 
their  Dress  and  Manner  of  Living — Servia — Its  History  and  Present  Condi- 
tion— The  Omladina — The  Servian  Church — Dress,  Customs,  and  Domestic 
Usages— Bosnia  and  Herzegovina — The  Bulgarians — They  Regain  the  Auton- 
omy of  their  National  Church — Progress  of  Education — Circassian  Colonies  in 
Bulgaria — Montenegro — Sketch  of  its  History — The  Albanians — The  Miridites — 
The  Greeks  of  Turkey— The  Districts  in  which  they  Predominate— Their  Con- 
trol of  Turkish  Commerce — Greeks  in  Asia  Minor — Crete — The  Armenians — 
— Maronites — Druses — Egypt — Its  Advance  toward  Independence — The  Suez 
Canal  and  other  Works  of  Improvement — Tripoli  and  Tunis 127 

CHAPTER    VII. 

THE  INSURRECTION  OF  1875,    AND  THE  WARS  OF  1876. 

Complaints  of  the  Christian  Subjects  of  European  Turkey — The  Insurrection  in 
Herzegovina  and  Bosnia— Efforts  to  Suppress  it— The  Great  Powers  seek  to 
Prevent  its  Spreading— Futile  Efforts  of  Diplomacy— Schemes  of  Reform— The 
Andrassy  au,l  Berlin  Notes— The  Massacre  of  Consuls  at  Salonica,  and  the  Bul- 
garian Atrocities— Views  and  Reports  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  Mr.  Baring,  and  Eu- 


CONTENTS.  g 

gene  Schuyler  on  the  Massacres  in  Bulgaria — Servia  and  Montenegro  make  War 
upon  Turkey — Details  of  the  Campaign — Defeat  of  the  Servians — An  Armistice 
Granted — Conference  of  the  Powers  at  Constantinople — Lord  Salisbury,  the 
British,  and  Count  Chaudordy,  the  French,  Rrepresentative  at  the  Conference — 
The  Turkish  Constitution— Plan  of  the  Conference  for  the  Settlement  of  Diffi- 
culties— It  is  Rejected  by  Turkey — The  Protocol — It  is  Rejected — Conclusion  of 
Peace  between  Turkey  and  Servia — The  Turkish  Parliament 100 


SECOND    BOOK. 

THE  EASTERN   WAR  OF  1S77-1878. 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE  RUSSIA^  DECLARATION  OP  WAR. 

The  Russian  War  Manifesto — Frince  GortchakofFs  Circular — The  Turkish  Reply — 
The  Army  of  the  Pruth,  its  Composition  and  Commanders — Total  Strength  of 
the  Russian  Armies — Crossing  of  the  Pruth — Occupation  of  Galatz  and  Braila — 
Convention  between  Russia  and  Rumania — Turkish  Protest — Declaration  of  Ru- 
manian Independence — Strength  of  the  Rumanian  Army — The  Seat  of  War — 
The  Defenses  of  Turkey— The  Danube  and  its  Fortresses— The  Turkish  Quadri- 
lateral— The  Country  beyond  the  Balkans — Strength  and  Condition  of  the  Turk- 
ish Forces — Operations  on  the  Danube 211 

CHAPTER  II. 

PASSAGE  OF  THE  DANUBE  AND  THE  BALKANS. 

Passage  of  the  Danube  at  Galatz — Bombardment  of  Rustchuk — The  Russians  Cross 
at  Sistova — Inactivity  of  the  Turks — Proclamation  of  the  Czar  to  the  Bulgarians 
— Capture  of  Braila  and  of  Tirnova — The  Balkan  Passes — Gourko  Crosses  the 
Balkans— Capture  of  the  Shipka  Pass — Advance  of  Gourko  into  Rumelia— The 
Russians  Capture  Lovatz — Storming  of  Nicopolis 235 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE  RUSSIAN  ADVANCE  IN  ARMENIA. 

Sketch  of  the  Field  of  the  Armenian  Campaign — Its  History — First  Advance  of  the 
Russians — Capture  of  Bayazid — Capture  of  Ardahan — Gen.  Melikoff  before  Ears 
— Gen.  Tergukassoff  at  Zeidekan — The  Turks  everywhere  Retreating  before  the 
Russians 255 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  RUSSIAN  REVERSE  IN  ARMENIA. 

The  Situation  in  Armenia  at  the  middle  of  June — Battle  of  Zeidekan — An  unex- 
pected change  in  the  Fortunes  of  War — Defeat  of  General  Tergukassoff  at  Deli- 
baba  and  of  General  Melikoff  at  Zewin — Retreat  of  the  Russians — General  Ter- 
gukassoff reaches  Igdir,  and  marches  to  the  relief  of  the  Russian  garrison  at 
Bayazid — Horrible  condition  of  that  place — The  Siege  of  Ears  abandoned — The 
Russians  again  iu  Russian  Territory , 272 


10  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  BATTLES  AROUND  PLEVNA. 

Change  in  the  Fortunes  of  the  Russians — Removal  of  Abdul  Kerim — Appointment 
of  Mehemet  All  fo  the  Supreme  Command — Plevna,  its  Situation — Arrival  of 
Osman  Pasha — Battle  of  July  19th — Defeat  of  the  Russians — Osman  Captures 
Lovatz — Battle  of  Karabunar — Retreat  of  General  Gourko — Battle  of  Eski  Sagra 
— Second  Defeat  of  the  Russians  at  Plevna,  July  3lst — Retreat  of  the  Russians 
from  the  Lorn — Operations  in  the  Dobrudja — Bombardment  of  Kustendje — 
Struggles  in  the  Shipka  Pass — Battle  of  Karasan — Repulse  of  a  Turkish  Attack 
on  Pelisat — Skobeleff  Recaptures  Lovatz — Battle  of  Kechlova — Third  Defeat  of 
the  Russians  before  Plevna — Capture  of  the  Grivitza  Redoubt — Bravery  of  the 
Rumanian  Troopu 285 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE     FALL     OF     PLEVNA. 

Renewed  fighting  in  the  Shipka  Pass — Defeat  of  Mehemet  Ali  at  Tcherkovna — Me- 
hemet Ali  replaced  by  Suleiman  in  the  Supreme  Command — Formation  of  the 
Army  of  Orkhanie — Reinforcements  and  Ammunition  for  Plevna — Battle  of 
Gorni  Dabnik — Capture  of  Telis — Battle  of  Radomirze — The  investment  of 
Plevna  complete — Capture  of  the  Green  Hill — Formation  of  the  Army  of 
Sophia— Capture  of  Teteven  and  Vratza — The  Rumanians  take  Rahova — Cap- 
ture of  Pravetz  and  Etropol — Turks  evacuate  Orkhanie  and  retreat  beyond 
the  Balkans — Suleiman's  advance  on  the  Lorn — Capture  of  Elena  by  the  Turks 
—End  of  the  Turkish  Advance— The  fall  of  Plevna 315 

CHAPTER  VH. 

THE  SECOND  CAMPAIGN  IN  ARMENIA. 

A  Summer's  rest  in  Asia — Position  of  the  Armies — The  Russians  again  approach 
Kara— Battles  of  Kisil  Tepe,  Yagni,  and  Aladja  Dagh— Retreat  of  Mukhtar 
Pasha — Advance  of  Gen.  Tergukassoff  on  the  Southern  line — Battle  of  Deve 
Uoyun,  before  Erzerum — Capture  of  Kara 339 

CHAPTER  Vni. 

THE  OPERATIONS  BEFORE  BATUM  AND  IN  THE  CAUCASUS. 

Batum— Its  Importance  as  a  Port— The  Russians  Undertake  its  Investment— The 
Turkish  Expedition  to  Sukhum  Kileh,  and  their  Effort  to  Excite  an  Insurrec- 
tion of  the  Caucasian  Tribes— Insignificant  Results  of  the  MoTement 360 

CHAPTER  IX. 

ON  TO   CONSTANTINOPLE. 

The  Close  of  the  Campaign  on  the  Lorn— Servia  enters  upon  the  Scene  of  War- 
Capture  of  Ak  Palanka  and  Pirot  by  the  Servians— Gourko  Crosses  the  Etro- 
pol Balkan— Battles  of  Taskesen  and  Kamarli— Capture  of  Sophia,  the  Trojan 
Pass,  the  Shipka  Pass,  and  Philippopolis— Suleiman  Pasha  Defeated  and 
Forced  into  the  Rhodope  Mountains— Capture  of  Adrianople— Suleiman's 
March  to  the  Sea— The  Russians  Occupy  Tcholuk  and  Tchataldjn,  and  Push 
their  Lines  along  the  North  Shore  of  the  Sea  of  Marmora-Final  Operations 


CONTENTS.  n 

of  the  Servians — Surrender  of  Widin — The  Czarevitch  Occupies  Raegrad,  Os- 
man  Bazar,  and  Rustchuk — Gen.  Zimmermann  Assumes  the  Offensive — Cap- 
ture of  Bazardjik 369 

CHAPTER  X. 

MONTENEGRO  AND  THE   GREEK  PROVINCES. 

Negotiations  between  Turkey  and  Montenegro  broken  off— The  Turkish  Armies 
Operating  against  Montenegro — The  Montenegrin  Forces — Operations  in  the 
South — AH  Saib  Repulsed— Suleiman  Captures  Kristatch,  the  Duga  Pass,  and 
Relieves  Nicsic — Incapacity  of  the  Montenegrin  Leaders— Suleiman  Captures 
Ostrok,  and  marches  through  Montenegro  to  join  Ali  Saib  in  the  South — 
Suleiman  and  his  Army  sent  to  Rumelia — Prince  Nicholas  takes  Nicsic  and 
other  Points  in  the  Herzegovina — Cessation  of  Hostilities — The  Montenegrins 
Capture  Spizza  and  Antivari — Operations  against  Scutari  interrupted  by  the 
Armistice — Operations  in  the  Greek  Provinces  and  in  Crete— Short  participa- 
tion of  Greece  in  the  War 379 

CHAPTER  XI. 

NAVAL     OPERATIONS. 

Russian  Fleet  on  the  Black  Sea — Russian  Fortifications  on  the  Black  Sea—  Expe- 
dition of  the  "  Constantino" — Destruction  of  Turkish  vessels — Expedition  to 
the  Mouths  of  the  Danube — Capture  of  a  Turkish  Mail  Steamer  with  a  valua- 
ble Cargo— Torpedoes— Their  use  in  the  present  "War 386 

CHAPTER  XH. 

DIPLOMATIC   HISTORY  OF  THE  WAR. 

How  the  Declaration  of  War  was  received  in  Europe — England  and -Austria — Cor- 
respondence between  the  British  and  Russian  Governments — Mr.  Gladstone's 
Resolutions— The  British  Fleet  in  Besika  Bay— The  Vote  of  Credit  in  the 
British  Parliament — Agitations  in  Austria-Hungary — The  War  Feeling  in 
Servia — Prince  Milan's  Visit  to  the  Czar — The  Excitement  in  Greece — The 
Mouths  of  the  Danube — The  Salonica  Murderers 888 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

INNER  HISTORY  OF  TURKEY  DURING  THE  WAR. 

The  Feeling  at  Constantinople  at  the  Beginning  of  the  War — Discontent  over  the 
Management  of  Affairs  by  the  Government — The  Holy  War  and  the  Flair  of  the 
Prophet-The  Turkish  Parliament— Ministerial  Changes— The  Sultan  still  talk- 
ing of  Reform* — Rise  and  Growth  of  the  Party  of  Peace — The  Second  Session 
of  Parliament — The  Government  Censured — Boldness  and  Independence  of  the 
Deputies — The  Sultan  Dissolves  the  Chamber  with  Signs  of  Displeasure — Fur- 
ther Ministerial  Changes — How  the  Porte  Supported  the  War 413; 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

ARMISTICE     AND     PEACE. 

Early  Measures  Relating  to  Peace — What  Russia  would  have  Demanded  in  June, 
1877 — German  Prognostications — Growth  of  the  Peace  Party  in  Turkey — The 
Porte  issues  a  Circular  Appeal  to  the  Powers  for  Mediation— The  Powers  De- 


I2  CONTENTS. 

cllne  to  Interfere,  but  England  brings  about  a  direct  Negotiation  between  the 
Belligerents— Turkish  Commissioners  appointed,  with  full  powers  to  Treat— 
The  Armistice  and  the  Conditions  of  Peace— The  Treaty  Signed  and  Ratified— 
Its  Conditions 42* 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  ATROCITIES  OF  THE  "WAR. 

The  Expectation  that  Outrages  would  be  Committed — It  was  not  Disappointed — 
The  Kurds  in  Southern  Armenia — American  Missionaries  in  Danger — The  Mas- 
sacre at  Bayazid — No  one  Punished  for  it — Charges  of  Outrages  bjr  Russians  in 
Armenia — They  are  not  Confirmed — Statements  of  English  Witnesses  on  the 
Conduct  of  the  Russians — Gen.  Melikoff's  Statement — Proclamation  by  Mnkh- 
tar  Pasha  Enforcing  Principles  of  Humanity — Russian  Severities  in  Abkhasia — 
The  Rivalry  of  Massacres  in  Bulgaria — Attacks  on  Neutral  Property  and  Hos- 
pitals at  Widin  and  Rustchuk — The  Manufacture  of  Atrocities— Official  State- 
ments by  the  Turks  against  Russians  and  Bulgarians — The  Mob  at  Nicopolis 
— The  Bulgarians  at  Offandlik— Destruction  at  Sistova — Wounded  Women 
and  Children  at  Rasgrad  and  Sliumla — Bulgarian  Excesses  at  Eski  Sagra — 
The  Turks  Recapture  the  Town  and  Obliterate  it — The  Russians  Exculpated 
from  the  Charge  of  Committing  Outrages  upon  Non-combatants— What  the 
Turks  Ascribed  to  the  Russians — Testimony  of  Mr.  Archibald  Forbes — Report 
of  Lieut.-Col.  Wellesley — How  the  Bulgarians  Regarded  the  Case — A  few 
Bright  Spots  in  the  Picture — Turkish  Atrocities  far  in  Excess  of  Anything 
which  the  Bulgarians  did — Destruction  of  Yeni  Sagra — Trial  and  Punishment 
of  the  Bulgarians-— Wholesale  Executions — Remonstrances  of  Foreign  Gov- 
ernments— Cruelty  of  Turkish  Soldiers  toward  Armed  Foes — The  Geshoffs — 
Destitution  in  the  Ravaged  Districts — Movements  for  Relief — Conduct  of  the 
Montenegrins 439 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE   PHILANTHROPY   OF  THE   WAR. 

Progress  of  Humane  Principles— The  Geneva  Convention— The  Russian  Soldiers'  Aid 
Societies— The  Empress  and  Ladies  of  Rank— The  Turkish  Aid  Societies— The 
British  Aid  Societies — Queen  Victoria — Lady  Strangford — Baroness  Burdett- 
Coutts — American  Societies — Union  of  Nations  for  the  Relief  of  Distress 468 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST. 

Interest  in  the  Personalities  of  the  War — Sovereigns  :  The  Czar  and  the  Imperial 
Family  of  Russia— Sultans  :  Abdul  Hamid,  Abdul  Aziz,  and  Murad  V.— 
Ismail  Pasha,  Prince  Charles  I.,  P|jnce  Milan  IV.,  Prince  Nicholas,  the  Em- 
perors William  and  Francis  Joseph,  Queen  Victoria,  President  MacMahon, 
King  Humbert— Statesmen :  Prince  Gortchakoff,  Gen.  Ignatieff,  Count  Shu- 
valoff,  Prince  Bismarck,  Count  Andrassy,  Earl  Beaconsfield,  Earl  Derby,  Mr. 
Layard,  Lord  Loftus,  Sir  H.  Elliot— Midhat,  Edhem,  Savfet,  Aarifi,  Server,  Hus- 
sein Avni,  Redif,  Mahmoud  Damad  and  Ahmed  Vefik,  Pashas — Ohannes 
Tchamith— Russian  Generals  :  Nepokoitchitzky,  Todleben,  Radetzky,  Zimmer- 
mann,  Baron  Krudener,  Gourko,  Skobeleff,  Shilder-Slmldner,  Prince  Sha- 
chovsky,  Dragomiroff,  Prince  Imeretinski,  Tchernayeff,  Loris  Melikoff,  Ter- 
gukassoff,  Dewell,  Heimann,  Oklobjio— Turkish  Generals  :  Abdul  Kerim,  Me- 
hemet  Ali,  Suleiman,  Osman,  Hobart,  Mukhtar,  Ghazi  Mehemed,  Feizi,  Taver, 
Shevket,  Rauf,  Fuad,  Dervish,  Pashas ;..  .  485 


CONTENTS.  13 

THIRD    BOOK. 

THE    EASTERN  QUESTION  AT  THE    CLOSE    OF  THE 
WAR— AN  OUTLOOK  INTO  THE  FUTURE. 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE    DOOM    OF    TURKEY 

The  Turkish  Power  in  Europe  destroyed  by  the  War — The  Turks  can  not  retain 
their  hold  upon  the  Autonomous  Provinces — Discontent  sure  to  spread  to  the 
other  Provinces — How  Bulgaria  separates  the  Capital  from  the  Provinces — 
Probable  Destiny  of  Bosnia  and  the  Greek  Provinces — What  will  become  of  the 
Turks — Principles  of  Decay  essential  in  the  Turkish  System — The  Koran  a 
Barrier  to  all  Progress — The  Mohammedan  System  in  Conflict  with  Popular 
Government — The  Turk  can  not  be  Europeanized — Fatalism— Low  Condition 
of  Education  in  Turkey — Amusing  Illustrations — The  Turkish  Language  an 
Obstacle  to  Scientific  Instruction— Christian  Schools — They  tend  to  build  up 
the  Christian  Nationalities  at  the  Expense  of  the  Turkish  System— Debasing 
Effect  of  Polygamy — The  Conscription  depleting  the  Country  of  its  Moslem 
Youth — Sanitary  Deficiencies — Decline  of  Turkish  Population — Growing  Im- 
portance and  Influence  of  the  Christians — Decadence  of  the  Turkish  Official 
Aristocracy — Condition  of  Asia  Minor — Account  by  a  French  Traveler — Picture 
by  an  American  Missionary — Testimony  of  other  Authors  to  the  Ruin  of  the 
Country— The  African  Dependencies  of  Turkey — Egypt,  Tunis,  Tripoli — Frailty 
of  the  Tenure  by  which  they  are  held— The  Bedouins — The  Ultimate  Fate  of 
Turkey 545 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  NEW  STATES   OF  THE  BALKAN  PENINSULA. 

I.    BULGARIANS  AND  GREEKS. 

The  Nationalities  that  are  to  Rule  Turkey — The  Bulgarians,  Greeks,  Rumanians, 
Servians — Latent  Traits  of  the  Bulgarians — The  Ancient  Bulgarians — Relations 
of  Bulgaria  and  the  East-Roman  Empire — The  Bogomils — The  Second  Bulgarian 
Kingdom  ;  its  Culmination  and  its  Speedy  Fall— Four  Centuries  and  a  half  of 
Oppression  and  Darkness — The  most  Wretched  People  in  Europe  at  the  Begin- 
ning of  this  Century — The  Marvelous  Awakening  and  Speedy  Advance — The 
First  Printed  Bulgarian  Book — Beginning  of  a  Movement  for  Education — The 
First  Popular  Schools — What  has  been  Accomplished  in  Fifty  Years — News- 
papers— Books — School-books  and  Literary  Works — The  Ecclesiastical  Strug- 
gle and  the  Victory  of  the  Bulgarians — The  Capacity  of  the  People  Proved — 
Opinions  of  Intelligent  Travelers — Kanitz  and  Von  Hellwald — They  are  Des- 
tined to  Become  a  Leading  Nation  of  the  Earth — The  Claims  of  the  Greeks — 
Tftieir  Noble  Ancestry — What  the  World  Owes  to  Greek  Learning — The  Greeks 
the  Ancient  Settlers  of  Turkey — The  Modern  Greeks  not  Hellenized  Slavs— The 
West  Responsible  for  the  Conquest  of  the  Greeks — Tenacity  of  the"  Grecian 
Character — Greece  During  and  Since  the  Revolution — Reasonableness  of  the  De- 
mands of  Greece  for  Territorial  Expansion— Attitude  of  Greece  in  1876-'77— 
Advance  into  Thessaly  in  February,  1878 — A  Mistake — The  Adjustment  of 
Grecian  Interests  more  Practicable  than  in  case  of  any  other  Nationality  of  Tur- 
key— Attitude  of  the  Greeks  toward  the  Slavs — Foreign  Views  on  the  Expan- 
sion of  Greece — Earl  Derby's  Expression 573 


I4  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE  NEW  STATES  OF  THE  BALKAN  PENINSULA. 

H.   RUMANIANS  AND  SEKVIANS. 

The  Dacia  of  the  Romans— Character  of  the  Ancient  Daciane— The  Roman  Conquest 
and  Colonization— "Withdrawal  of  the  Romans— Successive  Tribes  of  Northern 
Barbarians  Occupy  the  Country— The  Bulgarians  and  the  East-Roman  Empire 
—The  Kingdoms  of  Wallachia  and  Moldavia— They  become  Tributary,  and 
finally  Subject  to  Turkey— They  become  semi-independent  and  are  afterward 
united  as  Rumania— The  Rumanians  and  the  Romans— The  Wallachian,  or 
Rumanian  Language— The  Culture  of  the  Language— Wallachia  in  1835 — 
Count  Von  Moltke's  Impressions— Marks  of  Improvement  and  Progress- 
Agriculture  and  Manufactures— Jealousy  of  Foreigners— The  Nationalities  in 
Rumania— Distribution  of  the  Rumanians  in  Surrounding  Countries— The 
Mistakes  which  the  Rumanians  have  committed— The  Better  Qualities  of 
the  People— The  Hopeful  Prospects  of  the  Country— The  Servian  Nationality 
—Its  Numbers  and  Distribution— Education  in  Servia  and  Montenegro— Unity 
of  Language— The  Communal  Organization  of  Servian  Society— The  National 
Movement  and  the  Omladina— Capacity  of  the  Servians  to  form  a  nation 594 

CHAPTER  IV. 

PANSLAVIC  HOPES  AND  TENDENCIES. 

The  Result  of  the  War  encouraging  the  Panslavists — Original  Object  of  the  Slavo- 
phile Party  of  Russia — Opposition  to  the  Reforms  introduced  by  Peter  .the  Great 
— They  sought  to  Expel  European  Civilization  and  introduce  a  new  Civilization 
of  Russian,  or  Orthodox  Slavic  Development — Personal  History  of  the  Found- 
ers and  Builders  of  the  Party — The  Aksakoffs,  father  and  sons — Their  Social 
Circle  at  Moscow— Literary  Efforts  of  the  Elder  Aksakoff  in  behalf  of  the  Cause 
— Stephanovitch  Chomiakofi,  the  real  Founder  of  the  Party — His  Travels  and 
the  Views  he  acquired — The  Kircyevskis — Influence  of  these  three  over  the 
Aksakoffs — Constantino  Aksakoff's  Eccentric  Protests  against  French  Fashions 
— He  revives  Obsolete  Customs — The  Group  propose  the  Russian  Mir,  or  Vil- 
lage Commune,  as  the  Basis  of  the  new  Organization  of  Society — Ivan  Aksa- 
koff  and  his  Journal — Katkoff  and  the  Party  of  Young  Russia — Panslavic 
Movements  in  Austria— The  Slavic  Committees  of  Russia— Their  work  in  the 
Herzegovinian  Insurrection — A  Pro-Servian  Excitement  stirred  Up — The  Gov- 
ernment drawn  into  the  Movement — The  Czar  commits  Himself  at  Moscow — 
Silence  imposed  during  the  Constantinople  Conference — Actiyity  resumed — 
Prince  Tcherkassky — Aksakoff  declares  the  Union  in  accord  with  the  Czar — 
Slavic  Meeting  at  Warsaw G09 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE    PERIL    OF    AUSTRIA. 

The  immediate  Concern  of  Austria  in  the  Integrity  of  Turkey— Austro-Hungarian 
Interests  alone  Regarded— The  Heterogeneous  and  Discordant  Populations  of 
the  Empire-Kingdom — Decline  of  Austrian  Predominance  in  Germany — The 
Compromise  with  Hungary— Troubles  arising  out  of  the  Diversities  of  National 
and  Race  Interests — The  Czechs  and  the  Poles — Discontent  of  the  non-Magyar 
Nationalities  of  Hungary— Centrifugal  Tendencies  in  the  Empire  and  Kingdom 
— Hostile  Designs  of  the  Panslavists — The  Magyars  Friends  of  Turkey  and  Ene- 
mies of  Russia— Any  Change  in  the  Eastern  Situation  Dangerous  to  Austria — 


CONTENTS.  15 

Hungary — Views  of  Hungarian  Statesmen — Gen.  Klapka — Louis  Kossuth — Jeal- 
ousy of  the  Visit  of  Signor  Crispi,  and  his  Proposition  for  a  Confederation  of 
Slavic  States  and  the  Enlargement  of  Greece — Pro-Russian  Influences  at  the 
Court  of  Vienna . 638 

CHAPTER  VI. 
ENGLAND    AND    RUSSIA. 

Fear  of  Russia  entertained  by  the  Powers — Early  advances  of  Russia  toward  Con- 
stantinople— Frederick  the  Great  on  the  Threatening  Power  cf  Russia — Will  of 
Peter  the  Great — British  Interests  in  the  East — Russia  and  England  Rivals  in 
Asia — Russian  Conquest  Dangerous  to  the  British  Tenure  of  India — Kashgar 
and  Russia — Afghanistan,  its  Importance  to  British  Interests — Russian  Influence 
in  Persia — The  Blundering  Diplomacy  of  the  English  Government  Condemned — 
Position  of  the  English  Parties  on  the  Question — Counter-arguments  of  the  anti- 
Russians  and  the  anti-Turks — Views  of  the  British  Cabinet  and  Conservative 
Statesmen — The  Positions  assumed  by  the  Liberal  Statesmen — Moderated  tone 
of  the  English  Journals — Why  England  and  Russia  should  not  Quarrel — They 
are  the  Destined  Rulers  of  Asia — What  Benefits  they  have  Conferred  upon  it — 
What  they  may  yet  Accomplish  for  its  Civilization  and  Prosperity 640 

CHAPTER    VII. 

THE    NATIONALITY    PRINCIPLE  AND   THE    FINAL    ISSUE    OF    THE    EASTERN 

QUESTION. 

The  End  of  the  War  brings  New  Complications — New  Conflicting  Interests — How 
shall  they  be  Settled  ? — The  Influences  which  Control  the  Adjustment  of 
State  Lines — Dynastic  Considerations — The  Principle  of  Nationalities — Its  His- 
tory— Italian  and  German  Unity — The  Nationality  Principle  in  Austria — Its 
Application  to  European  Turkey — Indications  that  it  will  gain  Strength — It 
affords  the  Best  Guide  to  a  Final  Adjustment 663 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

COMPLICATIONS  ARISING  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  WAR. 
Leaning  of  the  Turks  toward  the  Russians — Austrian  Note  to  Russia  on  the  Treaty 
of  Peace — British  Objections  to  the  Treaty — The  British  Fleet  passes  into  the 
Sea  of  Marmora — Austria  Issues  an  Invitation  for  an  International  Conference 
— Prince  Bismarck's  Declaration  in  the  German  Parliament — Russia's  Opposi- 
tion to  the  Conference — England  Demands  the  Submission  of  the  entire  Treaty- 
Threatened  Rupture  between  Russia  and  England — Ignatieff  Visits  Vienna — 
British  Circular  to  the  Powers— The  British  Reserves  Called  Out— Intimate  Re- 
lations of  the  Russians  and  Turks. . .  .  673 


APPENDIX    I. 

THE  WILL  OF  PETER  THE   GREAT » 682 

APPENDIX    II. 

THE  TREATY  OF   SAN   STEFANO.  .  ,  686 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE. 

ALEXANDER  II.,  CZAR  OF  RUSSIA —  1 
ABDUL  HAMID  II.,  SULTAN  Of  TUB- 
KEY 2 

A  COFFEE  HOUSE  IN  CONSTANTINOPLB  21 

A  GATE  IN  CONSTANTINOPLE 22 

KILID  BAHK  ON  THE  EUROPEAN  SHORB  3t 
TCHANAK  KALESI  ON  THE  ASIATIC 

SHORE 32 

MIDHAT  PASHA 41 

PRINCE  GORTCHAKOFF 42 

THE  MONUMENT  ERECTED  AT  NOV- 
GOROD   53 

TYPES  OF  RUSSIAN  SOLDIERS 54 

RUSSIAN  PEASANTS 62 

ODESSA 71 

A  COSSACK 72 

COSSACK  SOLDIERS 81 

RUSSIAN  SOLDIERS 82 

THE  CIRCASSIAN  CHIEFTAIN  SHAMYL.  89 

REDIF  PASHA 89 

CIRCASSIANS 90 

A  WALLACHIAN 99 

A  GROUP  OF  TURKS 100 

TYPES  OF  ASIA  MINOR  AND  ARME- 
NIA   112 

BASHI-BAZOUKS 121 

KURDS 122 

CHARLES  I.,  PRINCE  OF  RUMANIA 131 

MILAN,  PRINCE  OF  SERVIA 132 

BULGARIANS ~ .  141 

NICHOLAS  I. ,  PRINCE  OF  MONTENEGRO  142 

MONTENEGRINS 151 

GREEKS 152 

S VETOZAR  MlLETITCH 167 

LCKA  PETKOVITCH 167 

SERVIAN  SOLDIERS 168 

ADVANCE  SENTINELS 173 

MR.  EUGENE  SCHUYLER 179 

MR.  WALTER  BARING.  . .                     .  1 80 


PAGE. 

ABDUL  Aziz,  LATE  SULTAN  OP  TUR- 
KEY   187 

ABDUL  Aziz  ON  HIS  WAY  TO  PRISON.  .  188 

GENERAL  TCHERNA YEFF 195 

GENERAL  ALIMPITCH 195 

TURKISH  SPIES  BROUGHT  INTO  THE 

SERVIAN  CAMP 196 

THE  MARQUIS  OF  SALISBURY 203 

EDHEM  PASHA 204 

THE  GRAND  DUKE  NICHOLAS 219 

EVENING  PRAYER  AT  KISHINEV 220 

CIRCASSIAN        CAVALRY       PASSING 

THROUGH  A  TURKISH  TOWN 235 

A  RECONNOISSANCE  IN  THE  DOBRUDJA  239 

BRIDGE  AT  SISTOVA 240 

GENERAL  GOURKO 249 

THE  ROAD  TO  THE  SHIPKA  PASS 250 

THE  EMPEROR  ALEXANDER  II.  EN  THE 
NEVSKI  PROSPEKT,  ST.  PETERS- 
BURG    255 

THE  GRAND  DUKE  MICHAEL 259 

CITADEL  AT  TIFLIS 200 

THE  DEFILE  OF  DARIEL 260 

BAYAZID 269 

THE  BATTLE  OF  TAHIR 270 

CITY  AND  FORT  OF  KARS 279 

ABDUL  KERIM 289 

GENERAL  SKOBELEFF 290 

SULEIMAN  PASHA'S  ATTACK  ON  THE 
RUSSIAN  POSITION  IN  THE  SHDTKA 

PASS 299 

PRINCE  HASSAN 300 

LIEUT.-GEN.  RADETSKY 300 

RUSSIAN  INFANTRY  GOING  INTO  AC- 
TION    309 

STORMING  OF  THE  GRIVITZA  REDOUBT 

BY  THE  RUMANIANS 310 

THE  BULGARIAN  LEGION  DEFENDING 

A  LUNETTE  IN  THE  SHIPKA  PASS  . .  319 
(17) 


18 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE. 

A  CAVALRY  FIGHT  NEAR  PLEVNA.  . . .  320 

OSMAN  PASHA 329 

THE  BATTLE  OF  PLEVNA 330 

THE  MEETING  BETWEEN  OSMAN 
PASHA,  THE  GRAND  DUKE  NICHO- 
LAS, AND  PRINCE  CHARLES.  .  837 

OSMAN  PASHA  BROUGHT  BEFORE  THE 

CZAB  AT  PLEVNA 838 

THE  DEFEAT  OF  THE  TURKS  BEFORE 

KARS 347 

ACHMED  MUKHTAR  PASHA 348 

GENERAL  MELIKOFF 348 

THE  RUSSIANS  STORMING  KAKS 357 

THE  LAST  SHOT  IN  THE  DEFENSE  OF 

KARS 358 

DEBVISH  PASHA 367 

MAHMOUD  DAMAD  PASHA 367 

HOBART  PASHA. 368 

HASSAN  PASHA 368 

A  TURKISH  BATTERY  OVERTAKEN  BY 

A  STORM  IN  THE  BALKANS 377 

A  CAVALRY  FIGHT  DURING  SULEI- 
MAN'S RETREAT 878 

RUSSIAN  TORPEDO-BOATS  ENGAGING 

THE  BATTERIES  NEAR  SILISTRIA.  . .  389 

A  RUSSIAN  BATTERY 390 

QUEEN  VICTORIA 899 

GLADSTONE 400 


PAGE. 
THE  HANGING  OF  CHRISTIANS  BY  THE 

TURKS  IN  THE  STREETS  OF  PHILIP- 

POPOLIS 437 

HEADS  OF  RUSSIAN  SOLDIERS 438 

MADAME  CAMARA  AND  A  WOUNDED 

CHILD 457 

WOUNDED  TURKS  RETURNING  FROM 

THE  BATTLE  OF  KASANLIK 458 

LOADING  AN  AMBULANCE 469 

DEATH  OF  Aziz  PASHA 470 

A  TURKISH  SURGEON  AND  FIELD 

EQUIPAGE 470 

MUBAD  V 483 

ALEXANDER,  HEIR- APPARENT  TO  THE 

RUSSIAN  THRONE 484 

WILHELM,  EMPEROR  OF  GERMANY  . . .  497 

THE  EMPEROR  OF  AUSTRIA 498 

BISMARCK . .  509 

DISRAELI 510 

SAVFET  PASHA 517 

A  TURKISH  SOLDIER  PRAYING  BY  THE 

GRAVE  OF  A  DEAD  COMRADE 518 

GENERAL  TODLEBEN 535 

SULEIMAN  PASHA 536 

UP  A  TREE 574 

MARSHAL  MACMAHON,  PRESIDENT  OF 

FRANCE...                                      .  009 


LIST    OF  MAPS    AND    PLANS. 

PAGE. 

MAP  SHOWING  THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  RUSSIAN  EMPIRE 61 

MAP  SHOWING  THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF    THE    PRINCIPAL    RACES    AND  RELIGIONS    OF 

TURKEY , Ill 

MAP  SHOWING  THE  Ol-JSRATIONS    IN    SERVIA,   BOSNIA,    HERZEGOVINA,   AND  MONTB- 

NEGRO 172 

MAP  SHOWING  THE  IMPORTANT  PASSES  OF  THE  BALKANS 229 

PLAN  OF  WIDIN  WITH  KALAFAT 230 

PLAN  OF  THE  FORTIFICATIONS  AROUND  PLEVNA 230 

MAP  SHOWING  THE  CAMPAIGN  ON  THE  DANUBE  AND  IN  THE  BALKANS 234 

MAP  SHOWING  THE  CAMPAIGNS  IN  ASIA 254 

MAP  OF  KAKS  AND  ENVIRONS.. 280 

MAP  SHOWING  THE  NEW  STATES  OF  THE  BALKAN  PENINSULA t 573 

MAP  SHOWING  THE  OPERATIONS  FROM  THE  BALKANS  TO  CONSTANTINOPLE ...       .608 


A    COFFEE-HOUSE    IN    CONSTANTINOPLE. 


INTRODUCTION. 


IMPORTANCE  OF   THE  EASTERN   QUESTION   AND   THE   EASTERN   WARS. 

The  War  of  1877-'78  one  of  the  most  important  Wars  of  the  Nineteenth  Century — Vast- 
ness  of  the  territory  involved — Great  Issues  at  stake — Eastern  Europe  on  the  eve  of 
a  Radical  Transformation. 

A  WAR  between  two  countries  so  extensive  and  so  powerful  as 
Russia  and  Turkey  will  never  fail  to  enlist  the  profound  interest  of 
the  civilized  world,  and  to  fill  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  history  of 
the  century.  Russia  and  Turkey  are  among  the  largest  empires  of 
the  earth.  In  point  of  extent,  Russia  is  the  second,  and  Turkey  the 
sixth;  in  point  of  population,  Russia  the  third  and  Turkey  the 
fourth  among  all  the  States.  Their  aggregate  population  exceeds  one 
hundred  and  twenty  millions,  or  nearly  one-tenth  of  the  human 
race ;  their  united  area  fully  occupies  one-fifth  of  the  entire  surface 
of  the  land.  Thus  in  every  Russo-Turkish  conflict  the  world  again 
witnesses  the  horrors  of  war  on  a  larger  scale,  and  these  horrors 
must  be  expected  to  be  all  the  more  frightful,  as  the  Turks  and 
even  large  portions  of  the  Russian  troops  have  not  yet  experienced 
that  influence  of  the  Christian  religion  and  of  the  civilization  of  the 
nineteenth  century  which  fortunately  distinguishes  to  some  extent 
.the  wars  in  Western  Europe  and  in  North  America  from  those  of 
former  times  and  of  other  countries. 

The  Eastern  war  of  1877-378  has  enlisted  an  even  more  general 
and  more  profound  interest  than  its  predecessors.  For  two  years  its 
outbreak  had  been  anxiously  looked  forward  to,  because  it  was 
thought  that  it  might  lead  to  results  of  more  than  ordinary  impor- 
tance, and  might  take  its  place  among  the  more  memorable  wars  in 
the  history  of  the  human  race.  The  power  of  the  Turks  has  long 
been  on  the  wane,  and  the  opinion  has  been  widely  spread  that  they 
would  not  be  able  to  retain  much  longer  their  hold  of  their  Chris- 
tian provinces.  The  rising  in  1875  and  1876  of  all  the  tribes  of 

(21) 


22  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

the  Servian  nationality  appeared  to  be  fraught  with  the  most  serious 
danger  to  the  Turks,  and  awakened  the  full  measure  of  that  sympa- 
thy which  is  accorded  to  the  struggle  of  any  oppressed  people  for 
independence.  When  Russia,  in  1877,  took  up  arms  in  support  of 
its  Slavic  brethren,  it  was  commonly  expected  that  the  time  for  a 
radical  change  in  the  territorial  division  of  Eastern  Europe  was 
near  at  hand.  A  decided  defeat  of  the  Turks,  it  was  thought,  might 
involve  their  entire  expulsion  from  Europe,  and  a  reconstruction 
of  their  European  dominions.  In  any  permanent  change  of  this 
kind,  however,  other  great  powers  are  directly  concerned.  Austria 
can  not  be  indifferent  to  the  final  fate  of  the  Slavic  tribes  of  Turkey  ; 
England  can  not  but  be  anxious  about  tl^e  final  fate  of  Constantinople 
and  the  Suez  Canal;  both  Austria  and  England  have  very  good 
reason  to  watch  with  suspicion  any  further  aggrandizement  of 
Russia ;  and  no  one  believes  that  any  lasting  change  in  the  map  of 
Europe  can  be  effected  without  the  consent  of  the  powerful  German 
Empire,  and  its  great  statesman,  Prince  Bismarck.  The  movements 
of  English,  Austrian,  and  German  diplomacy  have  therefore  been 
watched  by  public  opinion  with  almost  as  great  eagerness  as  the 
progress  of  the  war,  and  the  changing  prospects  of  a  still  further 
extension  of  the  seat  of  war  have  largely  added  to  the  general  interest 
which  has  been  taken  in  it. 

A  peculiar  interest  attaches  to  this  war  in  its  religious  aspect. 
The  civilized  world  has  fortunately  learned  to  discard  religion  from 
politics,  and  the  legislation  of  the  United  States,  which  grants  equal 
rights  and  equal  protection  to  persons  of  all  religions,  is  duly  appre- 
ciated and  more  and  more  adopted  by  the  States  of  Europe  and 
America.  The  Turks  might  have  received  the  full  benefit  of  this 
progress  of  religious  toleration,  and  the  fact  that  the  Mohammedan 
religion  forms  a  broad  line  of  distinction  between  them  and  the 
civilized  world  might  have  been  ignored,  if  the  Government  had 
been  just  toward  its  Christian  subjects.  This,  however,  has  not 
been  the  case.  The  shameful  oppression  of  the  Christian  provinces, 
after  having  lasted  for  centuries,  has  not  yet  ceased.  Mohammedan 
fanaticism  has  again  reflected  itself  in  the  horrible  Bulgarian 
atrocities,  and  the  war  against  Russia  had  hardly  begun  when  the 
Turkish  Government  manifested  the  design  of  proclaiming  a  holy 
war  of  all  Mohammedans  against  the  Christian  enemy.  Such  acts 
could  not  but  arouse  a  strong  feeling  of  antipathy  against  the 
Mohammedan  Turks  throughout  the  Christian  world.  They  re- 


THE  EASTERN  QUESTION  AND   WARS.  23 

called  to  the  Christian  nations  the  past  wars  between  the  Cross  and 
the  Crescent,  and  their  final  result,  the  complete  victory  of  progress- 
ive Christianity,  which  is  now  the  religion  of  almost  every  civilized 
country,  over  the  decrepit  Islam,  which  for  centuries  has  been  losing 
ground  wherever  it  came  into  contact  with  Christians.  The  exam- 
ples of  Spain,  of  Hungary,  of  large  Slavic  territories,  and  of  Greece, 
all  of  which  have  fully  emancipated  themselves  from  Mohammedan 
rule,  and  of  Servia  and  Rumania,  which  have  at  least  achieved  an 
actual  independence,  were  looked  upon  as  proofs  that  a  Mohamme- 
dan government  can  not  and  should  not  conduct  the  developing 
civilization  of  a  Christian  race,  and  that  the  Christian  tribes  which 
are  still  kept  down  by  Turkish  rule,  are  fairly  and  fully  entitled  to 
a  liberation  from  the  shackles  which  thus  far  have  obstructed  their 
progress.  The  warlike  spirit  which  animated  the  Crusader  against 
the  infidel  conquerors  of  the  Holy  Land  may  no  longer  exist  in  the 
present  generation,  but  just  in  proportion  as  the  Turks  choose  to 
remind  the  Christians  of  their  triumphs  in  former  religious  wars, 
they  will  revive  in  millions  of  minds  the  sorrow  for  the  Mohamme- 
dan conquest  of  the  sacred  places  hallowed  by  the  history  of  the 
Old  and  ISTew  Testaments,  and  will  swell  the  already  powerful 
current  of  an  anti-Turkish  public  sentiment.  Even  those  who 
dread  a  further  advance  of  Russia,  more  than  the  continuance  of 
Turkish  rule,  have  demanded  and  will  demand  satisfactory  guaran- 
tees for  the  freedom  of  the  Christian  provinces  from  any  further 
oppression  by  a  Mohammedan  government. 

The  fact  that  the  Turks  not  only  belong  to  an  alien  religion,  but 
that  they  are  an  alien  race  in  Europe,  has  greatly  added  to  the 
hereditary  hatred  with  which  the  conquered  tribes  and  the  neigh- 
boring nations  have  looked  upon  them.  Bat  this  difference  of  race 
has  received  a  much  greater  significance  in  the  light  of  modern 
science.  The  progress  of  comparative  philology  which  has  shown 
the  degree  of  kinship  existing  between  all  the  principal  languages 
of  the  world,  has  revealed  the  remarkable  fact  that  from  the  days 
of  the  Persian  Empire  one  family  of  nations,  speaking  languages 
nearly  akin  to  each  other,  have  run  far  ahead  of  all  other  nations  in 
power*  and  civilization.  The  Persians,  the  Greeks,  the  Romans,  in 
the  past,  and  all  the  Teutonic,  Romanic,  and  Slavic  nations  of  the 
present,  are  members  of  this  family,  which  has  been  variously 
designated  by  linguists  as  the  Aryan,  Indo-Germanic  or  Indo-Euro- 
pean. In  its  irrepressible  progress,  this  family  of  nations  has  now 


24  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

obtained  control  of  the  government  of  nearly  all  Europe,  America, 
Australia,  and  the  larger  portion  of  Asia,  and  it  is  still  steadily 
advancing.  The  Turks  do  not  belong  to  it,  but  to  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent race,  which  in  the  progress  of  civilization  has  thus  far  greatly 
lagged  behind,  and,  on  account  of  its  obvious  inferiority,  has  been 
steadily  losing  ground  for  centuries.  The  inference  has  been  drawn 
from  this  historical  argument  that  the  Turks  have  not  only  been 
unsuccessful  in  the  past,  but  that  as  an  inferior  race  they  will  also 
be  constitutionally  unfit  in  future  to  raise  the  countries  over  which 
they  rule  to  a  level  with  the  Aryan  nations  of  Europe  and  America. 
The  Eastern  wars  from  1875  to  1878,  and  the  inner  history  of 
Turkey  during  this  time,  have  therefore  been  scrutinized  with  close 
attention  by  thousands  of  eager  observers,  to  whom  they  appear  as 
a  new  test  of  a  theory  which,  if  true,  is  certainly  of  a  very  grave 
importance  for  the  welfare  of  millions  of  men,  and  which  undoubt- 
edly may  claim,  in  the  face  of  the  history  of  the  last  two  thousand 
years,  a  very  thorough  investigation. 


FIRST   BOOK. 


TURKEY,   RUSSIA,  AND    THE    EASTERN 
QUESTION    PRIOR    TO    1877. 


FIRST    BOOK. 


TURKEY,  RUSSIA,  AND  THE  EASTERN  QUES- 
TION PRIOR  TO  1877. 


CHAPTER   I. 

A   HISTORICAL   OUTLINE   OF   THE   EASTERN   QUESTION. 

The  Crusades— Conquest  of  Eastern  Europe  hy  the  Turks — The  Turks  Threatening  the 
Christian  Nations  of  Europe — Emperor  Maximilian's  Plan  of  a  General  Coalition 
against  the  Turks — Decay  of  Turkey  and  Rise  of  the  Russian  Empire — Aspirations 
of  the  Christian  Races  of  Turkey  for  the  Recovery  of  their  Independence — History 
of  the  Russian  Policy  in  the  East — The  Interest  of  Austria  and  England  in  the  East- 
ern Question — International  Treaties  and  Joint  Action  of  the  Christian  Powers — The 
Great  Crisis. 

THE  Eastern  Question,  or  the  question  as  to  the  destiny  of  South- 
eastern Europe,  has  for  many  centuries  been  a  prolific  source  of 
great  excitement  and  of  bloody  war.  It  has  presented  itself  to  the 
people  of  Europe  and  of  the  civilized  world,  uuder  greatly  varying 
aspects,  but  it  has  rarely  lost  its  interesting  character,  and  recently 
it  has  become  once  more  the  most  exciting  feature  in  the  inter- 
national complications  of  the  world. 

The  fate  of  the  East  became  a  subject  of  anxious  concern  for  all 
Christian  nations  of  Europe,  when  the  followers  of  Mohammed  began 
to  conquer  in  Asia  the  places  hallowed  by  the  life  and  death  of 
Christ.  The  conquest  of  the  Holy  Land  from  the  Infidels  was  truly 
for  the  Christian  people  of  Europe  an  Eastern  Question,  though  it 
was  not  called  by  that  name,  and  no  Eastern  war  has  ever  awakened 
a  greater  enthusiasm,  or  finds  even  at  the  present  day  a  larger  num- 
ber of  attentive  readers  than  the  crusades.  These  religious  wars 
have  turned  out  to  be  a  great  promoter  of  civilization,  and  have 
largely  contributed  to  the  ascendency  which  the  Christian  nations  of 

(*7) 


28  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Europe  and  America  now  enjoy  over  all  others ;  but  in  a  military 
point  of  view  they  resulted  in  a  complete  failure.  Not  only  were 
no  lasting  conquests  made  by  the  Christians,  and  not  only  were  the 
Eastern  States  established  by  them  very  short-lived,  but  the  final 
withdrawal  of  the  Christians  from  Asia  was  followed  by  the  inva- 
sion of  Eastern  Europe  by  the  Mohammedans,  by  the  decay  of  the 
East-Roman  Empire,  and  finally,  in  1453,  by  the  fall  of  Constanti- 
nople. 

Then  the  Eastern  Question  assumed  for  the  nations  of  Europe  a 
new  shape.  The  conquest  of  Constantinople  had  only  increased  the 
greed  of  the  Mohammedans  for  more  land,  and  Austria,  Hungary, 
Poland,  and  Russia  had  long  to  suffer  from  the  impetuous  invasions 
of  the  Turks.  The  Turkish  wars  of  the  fifteenth,  sixteenth,  and  sev- 
enteenth centuries,  though  not  so  famous  as  the  crusades  of  the  mid- 
dle ages,  and  the  great  Eastern  wars  of  more  recent  times,  still  live  in 
the  recollections  of  the  nations  which  suffered  from  them,  and  the 
people  still  sing  many  popular  songs  celebrating  the  great  heroes 
who  saved  large  portions  of  Europe  from  falling  under  Turkish  rule. 
The  Eastern  Question  for  the  monarchs  of  that  age  consisted  in  de- 
vising plans  of  defense  from  the  horrors  attending  and  following 
Turkish  invasions.  Sometimes  bold  plans  were  formed  for  not  only 
repelling  the  Turks,  but  for  expelling  them  altogether  from  Europe. 
Such  a  plan,  among  others,  was  devised  by  the  Emperor  Maximilian 
I.,  the  last  imperial  representative  of  medieval  chivalry.  It  pro- 
vided for  a  joint  war,  not  only  of  the  Christian  nations  of  Europe, 
but  of  Persians  and  Tartars,  which  was  to  last  for  three  years.  It 
was  to  begin  in  1518  simultaneously  in  Africa  and  in  Hungary.  In 
Africa,  the  Emperor  of  Germany  and  the  king  of  Portugal,  aided 
by  the  French  fleet,  were  to  liberate  the  princes  of  the  Northern 
States  from  Turkish  rule  and  to  enlist  them  in  the  common  alliance. 
In  Hungary,  the  king  of  Poland,  at  the  head  of  his  own  troops,  and 
of  Hungarian,  Bohemian,  Moravian,  Silesian,  Austrian,  Bavarian,  and 
other  auxiliaries,  was  to  conquer  the  border  provinces  of  European 
Turkey.  In  1519,  the  kings  of  Poland  and  France  were  to  unite 
their  forces  in  Bosnia,  conquer  Adrianople  and  Philippopolis,  and 
plunder  Greece,  in  order  to  raise  the  money  for  paying  the  Walla- 
chian  and  Tartar  auxiliaries.  In  Africa,  the  kings  of  England  and 
Denmark,  and  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Teutonic  Order,  supported 
by  a  Muscovite  army,  were  to  fight  a  decisive  battle  near  Algiers, 
and  conquer  the  Nile.  In  the  third  year  of  the  war,  the  victorious 


OUTLINE  OF  THE  EASTERN  QUESTION.  29 

army  of  Africa  was  to  join  the  kings  of  France  and  Poland,  and  to 
put  an  end  to  the  Turkish  Empire  by  the  conquest  of  Constantinople. 
A  new  census  was  to  be  taken  in  all  the  countries  of  Christendom, 
in  order  to  distribute  among  them,  pro  rata  of  the  population,  a  new 
Turkish  tax,  which  was  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  war.  After  the 
destruction  of  the  Turkish  Empire,  the  king  of  Persia  was  to  be  re- 
warded for  his  help  by  one-half  of  Asia  Minor,  Caramania,  and  Ar- 
menia, while  the  other  half  of  Asia  Minor,  Egypt,  and  Syria  were 
to  be  given  to  the  Austrian  nation.  It  is  not  known  how  the  Ern- 
peror  intended  to  divide  the  European  dominions  of  the  Sultan ; 
probably  the  want  of  agreement  about  the  Turkish  inheritance  was 
as  great  in  the  sixteenth  as  in  the  nineteenth  century.  At  all  events 
the  plan  was  not  carried  out  at  all,  and  the  Turks  remained,  for 
many  more  years,  a  terror  for  the  Austrian  and  other  neighboring 
nations. 

At  last  the  time  came  when  the  Turks  ceased  to  be  a  terror  to  the 
nations  of  Europe.  Their  empire  began  to  decline  with  the  death 
of  Solyman,  in  1566.  Several  great  defeats  destroyed  the  spell  of 
their  military  fame  and  furnished  the  welcome  proof  that  they  were 
not  invincible.  Moreover,  it  soon  became  apparent  that  the  great 
progress  of  military  science  in  Central  and  Western  Europe  was  large- 
ly improving  the  efficiency  of  the  Christian  armies,  while  the  reign 
of  several  weak  Ottoman  rulers  reflected  itself  in  the  declining  dis- 
cipline of  the  Turkish  troops.  Though  the  Turks  continued  to  meet 
with  a  few  successes,  their  wars  began  to  assume  less  of  an  aggressive 
and  more  of  a  defensive  character.  Their  territorial  losses  began  to 
exceed  their  gains,  and  no  important  addition  of  territory  was  made 
to  the  Empire  after  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century.  But 
the  most  momentous  among  all  the  causes  of  Turkish  decline  was 
the  rise  of  Russian  power.  The  Russians  were  among  those  nations 
of  Northern  Europe  which  had  had  to  struggle  against  the  advanc- 
ing Turks  for  their  very  existence.  Thus  the  Russian  and  the 
Turkish  Governments  became  hereditary  enemies,  and  this  enmity 
became  all  the  more  intense,  after  Peter  the  Great,  about  the  end 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  had  raised  Russia  to  a  level  with  the 
most  powerful  countries  of  Europe.  The  policy  of  Russia,  with  re- 
spect to  Turkey,  was  from  that  time  unmistakably  more  aggressive. 
The  Czars  were  anxious,  not  only  to  avenge  the  Turkish  aggressions 
of  the  past,  but  to  extend  their  dominions  at  the  expense  of  the 
Turks.  Throughout  the  eighteenth  and  the  nineteenth  centuries, 


30  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

the  two  countries  have  been  in  an  almost  chronic  state  of  enmity 
and  war,  and  as  during  all  this  time  Russia  has  been  steadily  advanc- 
ing in  extent  and  in  power,  and  Turkey  has  been  just  as  steadily 
progressing  in  its  decay,  it  has  more  and  more  become  the  general 
belief  that  if  the  two  powers  should  be  left  fighting  out  this  hered- 
itary war  single-handed,  the  Turks  would  finally  be  at  the  mercy  of 
the  Russians.  This  result  appeared  all  the  more  inevitable,  as  Rus- 
sia had  not  only  a  steadily  increasing  preponderance  of  power  in 
every  new  war,  but  was,  moreover,  aided  by  the  outspoken  sympathy 
of  the  Christian  population  of  European  Turkey.  In  proportion  as 
the  Ottoman  Government  became  weaker,  the  demands  of  the  Chris- 
tian population  for  liberation  from  Turkish  oppression  became  more 
outspoken.  Thus  the  Christians  of  European  Turkey  and  the  Rus- 
sians became  natural  allies,  because  they  had  at  least  one  common  in- 
terest, the  weakening  of  the  Turkish  Government.  The  Christians 
of  Turkey  hailed  every  Russian  victory  as  a  forerunner  of  their  own 
independence,  and  looked  upon  the  Russians  as  their  natural  and 
most  powerful  patrons.  The  Russians,  on  the  other  hand,  could  not 
be  blind  to  the  great  access  of  strength  which  such  a  patronage  would 
give  them  in  every*  new  war  against  the  Turks.  Accordingly,  when 
in  1774  the  Turkish  Government  was  compelled  to  conclude  the 
fatal  treaty  of  Kainardji,  one  of  the  articles  of  peace,  which  was  in- 
sisted upon  by  Russia  and  conceded  by  Turkey,  was  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Russian  protectorate  over  the  Danubian  principalities,  and 
a  right  of  Russian  guardianship  over  the  Greek  churches  of  Turkey. 
A  treaty  so  humiliating  for  the  Turks,  of  course  stimulated  the  as- 
pirations of  the  Christians  for  freedom,  and  these  aspirations  were 
greatly  strengthened  by  the  greater  acts  of  cruelty  and  oppression  in 
which  the  Turkish  Governors  of  Christian  provinces  thought  they 
could  indulge  in  view  of  the  growing  weakness  of  the  Imperial  Gov- 
ernment at  Constantinople.  Finally  the  aspirations  of  the  Chris- 
tians found  vent  in  the  wars  of  independence,  which  began  early  in 
the  present  century,  and  resulted  in  the  entire  freedom  of  Greece, 
and  the  actual  independence  of  Servia,  the  latter  obtaining  full  self- 
government,  and  having  only,  like  Rumania,  to  pay  a  tribute  to  the 
Turk.  If  other  provinces  were  less  successful,  repeated  insurrec- 
tions in  Bosnia,  Albania,  Bulgaria,  and  Crete  at  least  reminded  the 
Turks  that  their  rule  in  these  provinces  was  not  less  detested,  that 
in  any  new  war  against  the  Russians  the  sympathies  of  the  Chris- 
tians wrould  be  with  the  enemies  of  Turkey,  and  that  any  opportunity 


OUTLINE  OF  THE  EASTERN  QUESTION.  33 

for  establishing  the  independence  of  the  Christian  provinces  would 
be  eagerly  seized. 

The  Christian  powers  of  Europe  have  often  deemed  it  their  duty 
to  support  the  demands  of  the  Turkish  Christians.  The  peace  of 
Carlovitz,  in  1699,  compelled  the  Sultan,  for  the  iirst  time,  to  treat 
with  the  European  powers  in  accordance  with  the  received  rules  of 
international  law,  and  thus  gave  to  the  Turks,  much  against  their 
own  will,  a  place  in  the  family  of  European  States.  In  virtue  of 
this  position  the  Christian  powers  have  frequently  found  an  oppor- 
tunity to  force  their  diplomatic  advice  upon  the  Porte  in  behalf  of 
the  oppressed  races ;  and,  once  at  least,  in  the  case  of  the  Greeks, 
they  have  actually  co-operated  in  the  establishment  of  an  independ- 
ent State.  More  recently,  the  appointment  of  Christian  Governors 
for  the  Christian  provinces,  and  the  conferring  of  some  kind  of 
provincial  autonomy,  was  demanded  of  the  Porte,  and  the  whole 
of  Europe,  including  all  governments  and  all  political  parties, 
supported  the  Christian  races  in  demanding  it.  But  even  if  this 
concession  had  been  made,  it  would  not  have  sufficed  to  convert 
the  Christians  into  contented,  peaceful  subjects.  Their  desire  has 
long  been  overwhelmingly  for  the  expulsion  of  the  Turks  from 
Europe,  and  in  this  demand  they  have  been  openly  supported  by 
the  outspoken  sympathy  of  many  millions  in  the  European  coun- 
tries. Every  prospect  of  an  entire  expulsion  of  the  Turks  from 
Europe,  and  the  erection  of  one  or  several  independent  Christian 
States  in  the  place  of  European  Turkey,  would  be  hailed  by  many 
thousands  with  boundless  enthusiasm.  The  popularity  of  this  pro- 
ject might  long  ago  have  hastened  its  execution,  if  all  the  men  of 
influence  and  of  intelligence  among  its  patrons  were  not  aware  of 
the  great  difficulty  of  determining  beforehand  what  is  to  be  substi- 
tuted for  the  destroyed  Turkish  Empire  in  Europe.  The  Christian 
races  of  Turkey  themselves  have  troubled  themselves  very  little 
about  this  question.  The  friends  of  independence  in  each  province 
have  mostly  been  so  absorbed  with  plans  for  achieving  their  own 
freedom,  that  hardly  any  of  them  appear  to  have  given  much 
thought  to  what  should  become  of  the  whole  of  the  European 
dominions  of  the  Sultan.  Garibaldi,  who  takes  an  ardent  interest 
in  the  liberation  of  the  Christian  tribes,  and  has  repeatedly  oifered 
his  services  for  achieving  it,  has  proposed  the  erection  of  a  republi- 
can confederation  of  all  the  races  after  the  model  of  Switzerland,  al- 
lowing each  nationality  a  provincial  autonomy.  This  view  has  some 


34  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

friends,  but  there  is  not  at  present,  and  will  not  be  for  many  years  to 
come,  the  slightest  prospect  of  its  success,  for  the  Christians  of  Tur- 
key have  no  republican  sentiments,  and  the  monarchs  of  Europe  can 
not  be  expected  to  favor  it.  It  is,  however,  taken  for  granted  that 
whenever  the  power  of  the  Turks  in  Europe  should  actually  come 
to  an  end,  a  conference  of  the  great  powers  would  assemble  and 
arrange  the  future  form  of  government.  While  Greeks,  Albanians, 
and  Bulgarians  live  almost  exclusively  under  Turkish  rule,  and  may 
therefore  be  enabled,  by  a  dissolution  of  the  Turkish  Empire  alone, 
to  recover  their  independence  as  a  nationality,  it  is  different  with 
the  Servians  and  the  Rumanians.  Millions  of  people  of  the  same 
descent,  and  still  speaking  the  same  language,  belong  to  the  Austrian 
Empire — partly  to  Austria  proper  and  partly  to  Hungary.  Both 
nationalities  are  sufficiently  numerous  to  constitute  States  of  con- 
siderable size — if  ever  it  should  become  possible  to  unite  in  a 
political  union  all  the  people  speaking  the  same  language.  Now 
this  project  has  not  only  been  broached,  but  it  has  found  influential 
adherents,  both  in  Turkey  and  in  Austria.  The  example  of  the 
kingdom  of  Italy,  which  has  not  only  absorbed  the  petty  States 
ruled  by  native  princes,  but  has  even  succeeded  in  wresting  from 
the  powerful  Austrian  Empire  the  large  and  flourishing  provinces 
of  Lombardy  and  Yenetia,  has  greatly  encouraged  the  enthusiasts 
to  believe  in  the  restoration  of  a  united  Servian  and  a  united 
Rumanian  nationality.  It  is  evident  that  any  attempt  to  carry  out 
this  visionary  scheme  is  an  act  of  open  hostility  against  Austria. 
Every  progress,  which  a  tendency  in  this  direction  should  make 
among  Austrian  subjects,  would  threaten  the  Austrian  Empire  with 
a  territorial  loss  such  as  was  inflicted  upon  it  by  the  Italians.  There 
have  been  Austrian  statesmen  who,  in  view  of  the  impending  decay 
of  the  Turkish  Empire,  have  indulged  the  hope  that  Austria  might 
risk  patronizing  the  nationality  movements  among  the  Servians  and 
the  Rumanians,  with  a  view  of  making  the  two  reconstructed 
nations  integral  parts  of  the  polyglot  Austrian  Empire.  The  exe- 
cution of  such  a  project  would,  however,  revolutionize  the  entire 
policy  of  the  house  of  Austria.  It  would  equally  offend  the  two 
ruling  races,  the  Germans  and  the  Hungarians,  whose  leading 
principle  is  to  strengthen  the  preponderance  which  they  already 
possess  by  the  gradual  absorption  of  the  smaller  Slavic  tribes.  In 
whatever  light,  therefore,  this  nationality  movement,  which  some 
enthusiasts  have  started  among  the  Rumanians  and  Servians,  may 


OUTLINE  OF  THE  EASTERN  QUESTION.  35 

be  viewed,  it  has  given  to  the  Austrian  Empire  an  entirely  novel 
interest  in  the  fate  of  the  Servian  and  Rumanian  nationalities,  and 
it  has  thus  still  more  complicated  the  difficult  Eastern  Question. 

The  same  is  the  case  with  another  movement  of  recent  date — the 
so-called  Panslavism.  As  the  word  indicates,  this  means  some  kind 
of  union  between  all  the  sections  of  the  Slavic  race.  Some  Slavs 
have  viewed  it  as  a  merely  literary  union  among  all  speaking  Slavic 
languages,  but  more  commonly  it  is  regarded  as  a  political  move- 
ment, and  in  this  sense  it  has  made,  and  is  making,  a  great  stir  in 
Europe.  Though  the  Panslavists  disagree  in  many  respects  among 
themselves,  they  are  all  agreed  that  all  people  speaking  Slavic  lan- 
guages should  live  under  Slavic  rule,  and  that  the  direct  rule  of 
Germans,  Magyars,  and  Turks  over  Slavic  tribes  should  come  to  an 
end.  The  first  Panslavic  agitators  were  revolutionists,  who  wished 
to  overthrow,  not  only  the  rule  of  Germany,  Austria,  Hungary,  and 
Turkey  over  their  Slavic  subjects,  but  even  the  rule  of  the  Russian 
Emperors,  and  unite  all  the  Slavs  in  one  vast  republican  government. 
One  of  the  most  prominent  leaders  of  this  movement,  Bakunin,  is 
well  known  in  the  United  States,  which  he  visited  after  his  escape 
from  Siberia.  At  present  this  party,  though  not  extinct,  has  com- 
paratively little  influence  upon  the  march  of  events.  Among  the 
Panslavists  who  now  take  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  politics  of  the 
East-European  States  we  may  distinguish  three  sections.  The  one 
contents  itself  in  Austria,  Hungary,  and  Germany,  with  the  demand 
that  the  Slavic  populations  be  placed  under  Slavic  administrations, 
with  a  legal  protection  of  the  Slavic  tongue  as  the  mother  tongue 
of  the  provinces  and  districts  in  which  it  prevails.  The  German 
Reichstag  often  hears  these  demands  from  the  leaders  of  the  Poles ; 
the  Austrian  Reichsrath  from  the  leaders  of  the  Czechs,  Poles,  and 
other  Slavs  ;  the  Hungarian  Diet,  from  the  leaders  of  the  Servians. 
A  second  party  of  Panslavists  is  frank  enough  to  aim  directly  at  the 
overthrow  of  the  non-Slavic  Governments  which  rule  over  Slavic 
populations,  and  at  a  reconstruction  of  a  number  of  independent 
Slavic  Empires  which  are  to  be  closely  united  for  mutual  protection 
among  themselves,  and  with  the  giant  representative  of  Slavism, 
Russia.  The  third  party  regards  as  the  easiest  road  to  the  realization 
of  the  Panslavic  schemes  the  union  of  all  the  scattered  Slavs  with 
Russia.  Many  German,  Hungarian,  and  Turkish  statesmen  and 
writers  agree  in  charging  the  Russian  Government  with  employing 
paid  emissaries  to  spread  Panslavic  views  of  this  latter  kind  in 


36  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Austrian  and  Turkish  provinces.  At  all  events,  Panslavic  agitations 
have  made  a  mark  in  the  history  of  all  the  States  of  Eastern  Europe. 
In  European  Turkey,  not  only  the  Servian  nationality,  embracing 
the  Bosnians,  Herzegovinians,  and  Montenegrins,  but  the  Bulgarians, 
speak  Slavic  languages,  and  are  therefore  accounted  as  members  of 
the  Slavic  world.  Among  both,  Russian  Panslavists  have  been  hard 
at  work,  and  the  impressions  made  by  them  are  visible  in  the  history 
of  late  events.  Midhat  Pasha,  when  Governor-General  of  the  vilayet 
of  the  Danube,  had  several  Panslavic  agitators  executed,  and  openly 
accused  them  of  being  Russian  agents.  In  Austria,  and  especially 
in  Hungary,  the  progress  of  this  Panslavic  agitation  has  long  been 
anxiously  watched,  and  the  feelings  of  sympathy  which  the  horrors 
of  Turkish  rule  do  not  fail  to  call  forth,  even  in  Austria,  are  to  a 
large  extent  neutralized  or  entirely  overcome  by  the  fear  of  a  grow- 
ing Russian  preponderance. 

The  Panslavic  idea  offers  advantages  to  Russia  so  great  and  so  ob- 
vious that  Russian  statesmen  can  not  be  expected  to  overlook  them, 
whatever  reserve  the  regard  for  international  relations  and  duties 
may  outwardly  impose  upon  them.  But  whatever  the  relations  of 
the  Government  of  Russia  to  the  Panslavic  agitations  may  have  been, 
the  policy  which  she  had  steadfastly  pursued,  in  her  wars  against 
Turkey,  has  been  thoroughly  Russian,  not  Slavic  or  Panslavic.  Her 
chief  aim  in  weakening  Turkey  has  always  been  to  build  up  a  strong 
Russian  Empire.  Since  Peter  the  Great  all  the  Emperors  appear  to 
have  followed  a  definite  plan  in  their  struggle  for  aggrandizement. 
In  order  to  raise  her  people  above  the  level  of  merely  agricultural 
nations,  and  develop  their  commerce  and  industries,  Russia,  with 
unwavering  steadiness,  has  endeavored  to  gain  a  firm  footing  on  the 
Black  Sea.  This  aim  has  gradually  been  reached  by  the  conquests 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  Russian  vessels  can  now,  from  the 
Black  Sea,  proceed  to  the  Mediterranean.  But  one  great  drawback 
remained.  The  connection  with  the  Mediterranean  can  at  any  time 
be  interrupted  by  the  closing  of  the  Bosphorus  and  the  Dardanelles, 
which  are  controlled  by  the  Turks.  Therefore,  the  conquest  and  oc- 
cupation of  Constantinople  would  be  an  immense  advantage  for 
Russia,  for  it  would  fully  carry  out  the  intentions  of  Peter  the  Great, 
and  complete  the  work  which  the  founder  of  Russian  greatness  be- 
gan. It  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  the  Russian  statesmen  who  have 
desired,  for  more  than  a  century,  the  possession  of  Constantinople, 
have  been  guided  chiefly  by  this  consideration,  though  other  reasons 


OUTLINE  OF  THE  EASTERN  QUESTION.  37 

may  have  co-operated  to  make  the  desire  as  strong  and  as  wide- 
spread as  it  is  at  present  among  the  Russian  people.  When  the 
Turks  had  destroyed  the  East-Roman  Empire,  the  Czar  of  Russia 
became,  in  the  place  of  the  Emperors  of  the  East- Roman  Empire, 
the  protector  of  the  Greek  Church;  he  appeared  as  their  natural 
successor,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  at  the  outbreak  of  every  new- 
war  against  the  Turks,  the  Russian  peasantry  should  hope,  with  fe- 
verish anxiety,  for  the  news  that  the  Czar  had  made  his  entrance  in- 
to the  city  of  Constantinople,  which  they  call  Czargrad,  or  city  of  the 
Czar,  and  that  mass  should  once  more  be  celebrated  in  the  great 
church  of  St.  Sophia,  now  the  chief  of  the  Mohammedan  mosques. 
It  is  also  known  that  one  of  the  great  empresses  of  Russia,  Catharine 
II.,  conceived  the  plan  of  reviving  the  Byzantine  Empire,  and  that 
one  of  her  grandsons  had  to  learn  for  that  purpose  the  modern  Greek 
language.  But  the  chief  consideration  for  the  Russian  statesmen 
and  emperors  during  the  last  two  centuries  has  been  the  desire  to 
get  full  control  of  a  sea  coast,  as  an  indispensable  necessity  for  de- 
veloping fully  all  the  resources  of  the  vast  empire. 

As  the  intentions  of  Russia,  with  regard  to  Turkey,  have  long 
been,  and  will  be  in  future,  of  prime  importance  for  the  final  solu- 
tion of  the  Eastern  Question,  it  will  be  interesting  to  hear  the  views 
of  a  distinguished  Russian  writer.  Professor  Martens,  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  St.  Petersburg,  has  made  the  history  of  the  relations  be- 
tween Russia  and  Turkey  a  special  study,  has  published,  for  the  first 
time,  a  number  of  official  documents  relating  to  it,  and  has  reviewed 
the  whole  subject  in  a  treatise  which  is,  at  all  events,  a  valuable  con- 
tribution to  the  history  of  the  Eastern  Question.  The  design  of  the 
article  is  to  show  that  the  views  generally  entertained  of  the  aims  and 
policy  of  Russia  with  reference  to  Turkey  have  been  mistaken.  It 
sets  forth  that  within  the  present  century,  at  least,  Russia,  so  far 
from  seeking  to  destroy  the  Turkish  Empire,  has  insisted  upon  its 
being  maintained ;  and  that  while  it  has  held  it  a  supreme  duty  to 
protect  the  Christian  subjects  of  the  Porte,  it  has  always  endeavored 
to  accomplish  the  object  through  the  united  action  of  the  powers, 
always  hesitating  to  act  alone  till  the  attempt  to  secure  co-operation 
had  failed.  The  article  deserves  attention,  both  on  account  of  the 
new  views  it  gives  of  Russian  history  and  policy  in  the  East,  and  be- 
cause its  positions  are  supported  by  citations  from  documents  which 
are  now  for  the  first  time  made  known  to  the  public. 

Prof.  Martens'  first  endeavor  is  to  show  from  the  public  declara- 


38  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

tions  of  Russian  statesmen  that  ever  since  the  pacification  of  Europe, 
after  the  wars  of  Napoleon  made  concert  possible,  it  has  sought  to 
exercise  its  right  only  in  concert  with  the  powers,  and  has  steadily 
endeavored  to  secure  the  permanent  well-being  of  the  Christians  of 
Turkey  by  placing  them  under  the  collective  protection  of  Christian 
Europe.  In  1815,  at  the  time  of  the  meeting  of  the  Congress  of 
Vienna,  the  Russian  Government  addressed  a  note  to  the  allies, 
urging  them  to  extend  the  obligations  of  the  law  of  nations  over 
Turkey,  and  particularly  to  exact  of  the  Porte  a  correction  of  the 
practice  of  reducing  prisoners  of  war  to  slavery.  The  invitation 
was  not  heeded,  and  the  affairs  of  Turkey  were  not  considered  in 
the  Congress.  At  the  beginning  of  the  Greek  insurrection,  in  1821, 
Russia  sought  to  interest  the  powers  in  behalf  of  the  revolted  Greeks. 
In  one  of  the  notes  on  the  subject  the  Government,  referring  to  the 
possibility  of  its  being  impelled  to  act,  said  that  the  Russian  armies 
would  march,  not  to  extend  the  frontiers  of  the  Empire,  or  to  gain 
a  preponderance  for  which  it  had  no  ambition,  but  to  restore  peace, 
confirm  the  equilibrium  of  Europe,  and  secure  to  the  countries  of 
European  Turkey  the  benefits  of  a  happy  and  inoffensive  political 
existence.  In  1825  the  Government,  in  a  circular  note  on  the  same 
subject,  declared  that  "in  associating  ourselves  with  our  allies,  we 
adopt  a  measure  of  which  the  first  effect  is  that  no  event  can  be 
turned  to  our  exclusive  profit,  or  can  disturb  the  equilibrium  of 
Europe  ;  on  the  contrary,  all  the  results  will  be  common,  and  all  the 
intervening  powers  will  participate  in  a  just  and  even  proportion." 

At  the  negotiation  of  the  treaty  of  Adrianople,  Russia  proposed 
conditions  intended  to  secure  the  peace  of  Europe  for  several  years. 
After  the  constituting  of  the  kingdom  of  Greece,  it  continued  to  seek 
to  secure  for  the  Christian  populations  the  protection  of  the  powers, 
sometimes  by  friendly  overtures  to  the  Porte,  sometimes  by  invok- 
ing the  concert  of  the  powers.  While  the  preliminaries  for  the 
treaty  of  Paris  were  under  negotiation  in  Yienna  in  1855  and  1856, 
the  powers  insisted  that  Russia  should  give  up  its  claim  to  the  right 
of  protecting  the  Christian  subjects.  Russia  interposed  no  objection 
to  the  demand,  as  appears  by  the  protocol  of  the  15th  of  March, 
1855,  save  to  exact  the  condition  that  the  religious  rights  of  the 
Christian  populations  should  be  placed  under  the  protection  of  all 
the  contracting  powers.  Again,  on  the  5th  of  January,  1856,  the 
Russian  Cabinet  declared  that  the  Emperor  desired  to  raise  his  voice, 
in  common  with  the  other  European  powers,  in  favor  of  his  co- 


OUTLINE  OF  THE  EASTERN  QUESTION.  39 

religionists,  and  to  be  associated  with  them  in  deliberations  having 
for  their  object  to  assure  to  the  Christian  subjects  of  the  Sultan  their 
religious  and  political  rights ;  and  in  March  following,  in  signifying 
the  adhesion  of  his  Government  to  this-  policy,  Prince  Gortchakoff 
declared  in  the  Conference  that  it  was  convinced  that  nothing  was 
better  fitted  to  facilitate  the  government  of  his  Empire  by  the  Sul- 
tan than  for  him  to  do  what  he  could  to  add  to  the  happiness  and 
satisfaction  of  his  Christian  subjects. 

While  Turkey  and  some  of  the  other  contracting  powers  have 
held  that  the  treaty  of  Paris  prohibited  interference  with  the  in- 
ternal affairs  of  the  Turkish  provinces,  Russia  holds  that  the  prohi- 
bition is  based  upon  the  promise  of  reforms  which  was  given  by 
Turkey  in  the  publication  of  the  Hatti-Humayun,  and  that  its  ob- 
ligation is  dependent  upon  the  due  and  efficient  execution  of  these 
reforms  ;  and  it  insists  that  the  other  parties  to  the  treaty  acted  upon 
the  same  view,  when,  on  the  occasion  of  the  Mussulman  outbreaks 
in  Syria  in  1860,  they  permitted  French  troops  to  be  despatched  to 
the  province  to  restore  order,  and  the  Porte  accepted  the  interven- 
tion as  "  a  manifestation  of  the  sympathies  of  the  allied  powers." 
Again,  on  the  occasion  of  the  Cretan  insurrection,  in  1866,  Russia 
endeavored  to  induce  the  Porte  to  adopt  measures  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  condition  of  the  people  of  the  island,  but  was  not 
supported  by  the  powers,  and  its  efforts  were  fruitless.  In  a  de- 
spatch of  the  12th  of  May,  1869,  Prince  Gortchakoff  again  laid 
down  the  doctrine,  which  the  Russian  Government  had  never  ceased 
to  insist  upon,  that  the  collective  authority  of  the  great  powers,  in 
order  to  be  effective,  should  be  exercised  collectively,  and  that  a 
combined  action  afforded  the  best  means  of  introducing  improve- 
ments in  the  condition  of  the  Christians,  to  be  carried  out  through 
the  agency  of  the  Porte.  A  number  of  facts  which  have  only  re- 
cently been  brought  to  light,  tend,  according  to  Prof.  Martens,  to 
show  that  the  Russian  Government  has  become  convinced  that  the 
continuance  of  the  Turkish  Empire  on  the  Bosphorus  affords  the 
conditions  least  disadvantageous  to  the  commercial  and  political  in- 
terests of  Russia,  and  that  its  later  policy  has  been  governed  by  this 
conviction.  In  the  war  of  1828,  when  the  Russian  armies  had 
reached  Adrianople,  and  the  complete  downfall  of  the  Turkish 
Empire  seemed  imminent,  the  Czar  Nicholas  appointed  a  commission 
to  consider  what  should  be  done  in  the  expected  contingency. 
Count  ISTesselrode  laid  before  this  commis&ion,  on  the  4th  of  Sep- 


40  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

tember,  1829,  a  memorandum,  frankly  setting  forth  the  view  of  the 
Russian  Government,  in  which  he  said  :  "  We  have  always  considered 
that  the  preservation  of  the  Ottoman  Empire  would  be  more  useful 
than  injurious  to  the  true  interests  of  Russia,  and  that  any  condi- 
tion that  could  be  substituted  for  it  would  only  balance  for  us  the 
advantage  of  having  a  weak  State  for  a  neighbor ; "  but,  if  the  fall 
of  the  Turkish  Empire  was  inevitable,  or  the  rule  of  Turkey  should 
be  replaced  by  a  new  combination,  then  Russia  should  invite  its 
allies  "  to  deliberate  in  common  with  it  on  this  great  question.  To 
desire  to  solve  it  without  their  participation,  while  their  strongest 
interests  were  involved  in  it,  would  be  to  affront  their  honor,  and 
charge  ourselves  with  a  too  great  responsibility."  The  commission 
had  also  to  consider  a  memoir  by  Councillor  Dashkoff,  a  distin- 
guished specialist,  the  burden  of  which  was  to  show  that  Russia 
needed  no  new  acquisitions  of  territory.  This  paper  sets  forth  that 
the  present  Russia  should  occupy  itself  with  securing  its  frontiers 
and  developing  its  resources,  rather  than  in  seeking  after  new  lands. 
A  policy  involving  the  destruction  of  the  Turkish  Empire  must  be 
regarded  as  against  the  true  interests  of  Russia.  It  was  not  denied, 
that  in  times  past,  Russia  had  entertained  designs  of  conquest 
against  Turkey,  but  those  times  were  forever  at  an  end,  and  the 
Russia  of  the  eighteenth  was  not  the  Russia  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury. A  plan  was  also  laid  before  the  commission  which  had  been 
proposed  by  the  Count  Capo  d'Istria,  for  the  reconstruction  of  the 
Balkan  peninsula  and  its  division  into  five  States,  according  to  the 
nationalities  and  the  race  affinities  of  the  people,  with  governors 
chosen  from  five  European  princely  houses  of  the  second  rank  to 
rule  over  them,  which  should  form  a  confederacy  to  be  represented 
by  a  Congress  meeting  annually  in  Constantinople,  which,  with  an 
enlarged  territory,  was  to  be  constituted  a  free  city.  "Without  tak- 
ing formal  action  on  this  plan,  which  it  is  known,  however,  was  not 
acceptable  to  them,  the  commission  concluded  as  the  result  of  their 
deliberations :  1.  That  the  advantages  afforded  by  maintaining  the 
Ottoman  Empire  outweighed  the  inconveniences  occasioned  by  it ; 
2.  That  the  fall  of  Turkey  would  be  against  the  true  interests  of 
Russia ;  3.  That  it  would  therefore  be  wise  to  prevent  such  an  event, 
and  for  that  purpose  to  make  use  of  every  opportunity  to  conclude 
an  honorable  peace. 

When  the  existence  of  the -Ottoman  Empire  was  again  put  in  peril 
between  1830  and  1840,  by  the  operations  of  Mehemet  Ali,  pasha 


MIDHAT    PASHA. 


PRINCE    GORTCHAKOFF. 


OUTLINE  OF  THE  EASTERN  QUESTION.  43 

of  Egypt,  Russia  concluded  a  defensive  alliance  with  the  Porte,  sent 
a  fleet  and  an  army  corps  to  Constantinople,  and  at  a  later  period 
acted  in  co-operation  with  England,  Austria,  and  Prussia,  to  defend 
the  Empire  against  its  dangerous  enemy.  The  Russian  policy  at 
that  time  was  defined  in  a  note  from  Count  Nesselrode  to  the  Czar, 
June  7",  1833,  in  which  he  said :  "  Our  system  in  regard  to  the 
East  has  had  for  its  principal  tendency  to  give  a  greater  consistency 
to  certain  parts  of  the  Turkish  Empire." 

When  the  condition  of  Turkish  affairs  had  reached  its  worst,  and 
there  seemed  no  possibility  of  preserving  the  Empire,  the  Czar  sought 
a  consultation  with  the  Austrian  Government,  as  the  power  which 
had  the  most  direct  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  Balkan  peninsula. 
At  an  interview  with  the  Austrian  Ambassador,  on  the  8th  of  Febru- 
ary, 1833,  after  describing  the  sad  situation  of  the  Porte,  with  its 
internal  disorders  complicating  the  dangers  from  without,  and  ex- 
pressing his  willingness  to  come  to  its  help  if  that  was  desired,  he 
added,  "  but  that  is  all  that  I  can  do.  I  can  not  give  life  to  a  dead 
body,  and  the  Turkish  Empire  is  dead;  but,"  he  continued,  "if  it 
falls,  I  do  not  want  any  of  its  remains,  I  have  no  need  of  them."  In 
the  same  year  the  treaty  of  Miinchengratz  was  concluded  between 
Russia  and  Austria,  in  which  the  two  powers  mutually  engaged 
themselves  to  persevere  in  the  policy  of  maintaining  the  existence 
of  the  Ottoman  Empire  under  the  actual  dynasty,  and  to  consecrate 
to  that  end,  "  in  a  perfect  accord,"  every  means  of  influence  and  ac- 
tion in  their  power.  In  contemplation,  however,  of  the  possible  ex- 
tinction of  the  Turkish  Empire,  a  secret  article  was  added  to  the 
treaty  providing  that  the  two  powers  should  act  in  concert  and  in  a 
perfect  spirit  of  solidarity  in  reference  to  everything  that  concerned 
the  establishment  of  the  new  order  of  things  which  it  would  be 
necessary  to  arrange.  In  1839,  Mehemet  Ali  again  rose  against  his 
suzerain  and  put  Constantinople  in  peril.  England  and  France  now 
appeared  as  the  champions  of  Turkey,  both  being  actuated  by  sus- 
picions of  the  designs  of  Russia.  Under  these  circumstances  the 
Czar  repeatedly  instructed  his  representatives  at  London,  Paris,  and 
Vienna  to  use  all  their  influence  to  confine  the  conflict  between 
Turkey  and  Egypt  to  as  narrow  limits  as  possible,  so  that  it  should 
not  compromise  the  general  peace  of  Europe.  At  the  same  time  he^ 
sought  to  induce  the  Cabinet  of  Vienna  to  make  the  convention  of" 
Miinchengratz  the  basis  of  the  policy  on  which  the  two  powers 
should  continue  to  act  together.  The  Government  instructed  its 
3 


44  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Ambassador  at  Vienna  to  represent  that  the  Czar  was  then,  as  be- 
fore, firmly  resolved  to  employ  every  means  in  his  power  to  main- 
tain the  existence  of  the  Ottoman  Empire  under  the  actual  dynasty  ; 
to  oppose  every  combination  which  could  attack  the  independence 
of  the  authority  of  the  Sultan ;  to  accept  no  order  of  affairs  which 
might  imperil  the  actual  existence  of  the  Ottoman  Empire;  and, 
finally,  to  agree  with  Austria  upon  the  most  efficacious  measures  to 
be  adopted  in  common,  between  the  two  imperial  courts,  to  prevent 
the  dangers  which  a  sudden  change  in  the  existence  of  the  Ottoman 
Empire  might  bring  to  those  parts  of  their  estates  which  bordered 
on  Turkey.  The  Czar,  it  is  explained,  thus  decided  to  take  the  side 
of  the  Sultan,  not  because  of  any  particular  friendship  to  him,  but 
because  he  was  convinced  that  if  the  Turkish  Empire  was  destroyed, 
Mehemet  Ali  would  be  able  to  build  up  a  new  living  State,  danger- 
ous to  Russia.  The  Czar  at  this  time  declined  to  join  in  a  call  for  a 
conference  of  the  great  powers,  because  it  was  convinced  that  France 
and  England  were  seeking  objects  opposed  to  Russian  interests,  or 
in  other  words,  that  they  did  not  wish  to  secure  the  repose  of  the 
East,  as  much  as  to  fetter  the  Eussian  power.  The  Russian  Gov- 
ernment proposed  to  Austria,  in  1843,  to  communicate  confidentially 
to  the  powers  the  terms  of  the  convention  of  Miinchengratz,  which 
provided  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Turkish  power  in  Europe, 
hoping  thereby  to  dissipate  the  prejudices  and  suspicions  prevalent 
in  England  against  Russia.  The  Austrian  Minister  would  not  agree 
to  make  it  known,  and  the  convention  remained  a  secret  until  it 
was  very  recently  revealed.  It  is  doubtful  if  publication,  even 
at  the  time  it  was  suggested,  would  have  had  any  influence  upon 
English  feeling,  which  had  already  begun  to  become  an  element  of 
party  division.  The  prevailing  opinion  that  Russia  opposed  the 
closing  of  the  Dardanelles  and  the  Bosphorus  to  ships  of  war  is  con- 
tradicted by  Prof.  Martens,  who  cites  from  the  Imperial  archives 
evidence  that  no  power  contended  with  as  much  energy  for  the  clos- 
ing of  the  straits  as  Russia.  The  Government  repeatedly  instructed 
its  representatives,  while  the  negotiations  were  going  on,  to  insist 
upon  this  point,  and  the  Czar  Nicholas  is  said  to  have  declared  cate- 
gorically that  the  security  of  the  Turkish  Empire,  and  of  the  Rus- 
sian possessions  on  the  Black  Sea,  could  not  be  guaranteed  unless  it 
was  carried.  On  this  point,  Russia  was  opposed  to  the  Austrian 
Cabinet,  who  sought  to  separate  this  question  from  that  of  the  in- 
tegrity of  Turkey. 


OUTLINE  OF  THE  EASTERN  QUESTION.  45 

The  Russian  Ambassador  made  explanations  of  the  views  of  his 
Government  to  Lord  Palrnerston,  which,  while  they  did  not  remove 
the  jealousy  and  apprehension  of  the  Russian  purposes  entertained  by 
the  British  Government  and  people,  led  the  Premier  to  declare  that 
both  England  and  Russia  had  often  had  cause  to  regret  that  the  duty 
of  solving  the  Eastern  Question  had  not  been  given  to  them  alone. 
The  Czar  gave  his  full  assent  to  a  note  intended  to  influence  the 
domestic  policy  of  the  Turkish  Government,  which  was  drawn  up 
by  Prince  Metternich,  the  Austrian  Prime  Minister,  in  1841.  In 
this  paper  it  was  announced  that  the  intrinsic  defects  of  the  Turk- 
ish system,  growing  out  of  the  want  of  homogenity  of  the  people 
and  the  weakness  of  the  Government,  were  aggravated  and  intensi- 
fied by  the  efforts  to  introduce  reforms  in  the  European  fashion, 
which  the  Sultans  were  endeavoring  to  carry  out  "  without  any  other 
support  than  a  profound  ignorance  and  an  immense  mass  of  illu- 
sions." The  document  contained  the  strange  doctrine  that  "  States 
in  decay  are,  as  a  rule,  less  able  to  govern  themselves  under  happy 
circumstances  than  in  misfortune,  which  has  become  for  them  a 
normal  condition,  a  species  of  second  nature,"  and  gave  the  advice 
that  the  Turks  should  establish  their  Government  upon  respect  for 
their  own  religious  institutions,  consult  and  act  upon  the  emergen- 
cies of  the  moment,  and  "  remain  Turks.  Accord  to  your  Christian 
subjects  the  most  complete  protection;  exercise  toward  them  a 
genuine  tolerance ;  do  not  suffer  Pashas  and  subalterns  to  molest 
them ;  do  not  meddle  in  their  religious  affairs,  but  be  their  sovereign 
protector  in  all  their  privileges ;  keep  all  the  promises  that  you  made 
in  the  edict  of  Gulhane."  Russia  repeated  substantially  the  same 
advice  in  a  note  addressed  to  the  Porte  about  a  month  later.  It  was 
mistaken  advice ;  but  the  fact  exists  that  the  two  powers  held  the 
views  it  embodies  at  the  time  it  was  given.  Prof.  Martens,  at  the  con- 
clusion of  his  review,  sums  up  the  principles  of  Russian  policy  in  the 
East  to  be :  1.  Russia  has  always  considered  the  fate  of  the  Christian 
subjects  of  the  Porte  a  matter  of  common  concern  to  all  the  European 
powers ;  2.  In  case  the  great  powers  reach  no  common  understanding, 
that  one  of  them,  whose  interests  are  drawn  most  directly  into  sym- 
pathy by  disturbances  in  the  East,  has  the  moral  and  judicial  right 
to  intervene  in  the  internal  affairs  of  Turkey ;  and,  3.  The  prime 
and  real  object  of  Russian  policy  in  respect  to  the  Ottoman  Empire 
has  been  nothing  else  than  the  improvement  of  the  condition  of  the 
Christian  populations  without  distinction  of  race  and  faith. 


46  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

The  growth  of  Russia,  at  the  expense  of  Turkey,  and  the  plans  of 
further  aggrandizement,  which  are  commonly  attributed  to  it,  have 
nowhere  aroused  so  great  jealousy  and  so  bitter  enmity  as  among 
some  of  the  leading  statesmen  of  England.  Russia  and  England 
are  at  present  the  two  great  Empires  of  the  world.  If  we  say  that 
the  Emperor  of  Russia  and  the  Queen  each  rule  over  a  territory  of 
more  than  8,000,000  square  miles,  or  more  than  double  the  extent 
of  the  United  States,  and  that  the  Empire  next  to  them  in  point  of 
size  has  less  than  4,000,000  square  miles,  it  will  be  seen  how  far 
both,  in  this  respect,  have  run  ahead  of  the  remainder  of  the  world. 
A  position  like  this  is  well  adapted  to  engender  feelings  of  rivalry 
and  jealousy.  Both  Empires  are  still  continuing  to  annex  new  terri- 
tory, and  in  the  race  for  the  highest  place  among  the  States,  neither 
would  like  to  be  greatly  distanced  by  the  other.  ( In  Asia  the  borders 
of  the  two  Empires  now  almost  meet,  and  many  British  statesmen 
have  long  been  haunted  by  the  fear  that  the  disappearance  of  this 
small  neutral  zone,  which  still  separates  British  India  from  the 
latest  Russian  conquest,  may  soon  be  followed  by  a  collision  of  the 
two  great  Empires.  In  such  a  case  Russia  would  have  the  great  mil- 
itary advantage  over  England  that  all  the  parts  of  the  Russian  Em 
pire  are  a  compact  whole,  and  that  nets  of  railroads  may  enable  the 
Government  to  bring  within  a  short  time  vast  bodies  of  troops  to 
any  point.  India,  on  the  other  hand,  is  separated  by  an  immense 
distance  from  England,  and  it  will  take  a  much  longer  time  to  obtain 
reinforcements  from  England.  The  route  to  India  has  of  late  been 
greatly  shortened  by  the  construction  of  the  Suez  Canal,  and  an  alli- 
ance with  the  power  in  whose  dominions  lies  the  canal,  is  therefore 
of  obvious  advantage  to  England.  Formerly  the  importance  for 
England  of  Constantinople,  in  case  of  a  war  with  Russia,  was  fre- 
quently discussed,  as  the  shortest  land  route  between  England  and 
India  would  lead  through  Germany,  Austria,  and  Turkey.  Since 
the  construction  of  the  Suez  Canal,  Constantinople  is  no  longer  so 
much  talked  of ;  but  it  is  urged  that  as  Turkey  is  the  irreconcilable 
enemy  of  Russia,  it  is  the  manifest  interest  of  England  to  maintain 
the  Turkish  power  as  much  as  possible,  as  in  the  present  state  of 
international  relations,  England  can  at  any  time  compel  the  alliance 
of  the  Turks.  All  this  reasoning,  it  .will  be  seen,  depends  upon  the 
supposition  that  there  may  be  at  some  future  time  some  tremendous 
war  between  Russia  and  England  ;  that  in  this  war,  Turkey  can  not 
help  siding  with  England,  and  that  therefore  England  must  keep 


OUTLINE  OF  THE  EASTERN  QUESTION.  47 

Turkey  as  powerful  as  possible,  and  that  she  must,  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, prevent  any  further  aggrandizement  of  Russia.  It  is,  however, 
only  the  statesmen  of  one  party,  the  Tories,  who  hold  these  anti- 
Russian  views.  The  other  great  party  in  England,  the  Liberals,  are 
decidedly  unfavorable  and  hostile  to  Tiirkey.  They  insist  that  in 
any  speculation  on  the  future,  the  utter  rottenness  of  the  Turkish 
Empire  can  not  be  overlooked ;  that  it  would  be  unworthy  of  En- 
gland to  disregard  the  terrible  wrongs  of  the  Christian  provinces  and 
their  just  claims  to  independence  ;  that  the  fears  of  an  impending 
conflict  between  Russia  and  England  are  greatly  exaggerated ;  that 
wise  statesmanship  may  remove  the  danger  of  a  very  serious  compli- 
cation, and  that  with  regard  to  Turkey,  an  alliance  between  England 
and  Russia  might  furnish  at  once  the  best  solution  of  the  Eastern 
Question  by  putting  an  end  to  the  rule  of  the  Turks  over  Christian 
provinces  and  Christian  races.  The  controversy  of  the  great  politi- 
cal parties  of  England  on  this  question  has  been  carried  on  with 
great  bitterness,  and  the  Eastern  Question  has  thus  been  in  England 
for  years  the  subject  of  the  most  venomous  parliamentary  war.  The 
attitude  of  the  ruling  party  of  England  with  regard  to  any  new  com- 
plication between  Russia  and  Turkey  is  a  matter  of  grave  impor- 
tance ;  the  changing  ascendency  of  the  two  parties  makes  the  great 
solution  of  the  Eastern  Question  all  the  more  obscure.  In  1853,  the 
anti-Russian  party  engaged  with  Turkey,  France,  and  Sardinia  in 
the  Crimean  war,  which  resulted  in  the  defeat  and  humiliation  of 
Russia.  When  the  Bosnian  insurrection  of  1875  inaugurated  the 
new  Eastern  war,  the  anti-Russian  party  was  again  in  power,  and 
great  apprehensions  were  therefore  again  felt  that  this  war  might 
assume  very  large  dimensions. 

It  is  evident  that  the  powers  most  directly  and  immediately  inter- 
ested in  the  solution  of  the  Eastern  Question — the  Christian  races 
of  Turkey,  Austria,  Russia,  and  England — widely  and  radically  dif- 
fer in  their  views.  The  Christian  races  agree  in  the  demand  of  an 
entire  expulsion  of  the  Turks  from  Europe,  and  of  the  substitution 
for  the  Turkish  dominion  in  Europe  of  a  number  of  independent 
States,  based  upon  the  nationality  principle.  The  real  designs  of 
the  Russian  policy  are,  to  a  large  extent,  shrouded  in  mystery ;  but 
it  is  fully  admitted  by  Russia,  that  she  wants  a  greater  development 
of  her  naval  strength  and,  therefore,  free  naval  communication  with 
the  Mediterranean.  The  views  of  the  Russian  Government  with 
regard  to  the  Turkish  rule  in  Europe  have  undergone  many  changes ; 


48  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

but  the  unchanging  element  in  them  is  the  desire  of  Russia  to  see 
the  Balkan  peninsula,  if  not  in  her  own  possession,  at  least  occupied 
by  weak  and  impotent  States.  The  attention  of  England  is  mo- 
nopolized by  the  question  whether  Russia  plans  any  movements  which 
might  endanger  the  British  interests  in  the  East.  Austria  is  chiefly 
concerned  in  preventing  the  establishment  of  powerful  States  on 
her  southern  border,  which  might  increase  the  dissatisfaction  of 
the  Slavic  and  Rumanian  population  of  Austria.  None  of  the 
other  States  of  Europe  has  so  direct  and  immediate  an  interest  in 
Turkish  affairs  as  the  powers  just  mentioned.  France  has  taken 
the  Catholic  subjects  of  Turkey  under  her  special  protection,  and 
was  formerly  very  active  in  the  affairs  of  the  East,  but  has  been 
compelled  by  its  own  internal  condition,  since  1870,  to  refrain  from 
conspicuous  participation  relating  to  them.  In  general,  the  European 
States  can  not  be  supposed  to  be  favorably  disposed  toward  an  ex- 
tension of  Russian  rule  in  South-eastern  Europe;  for,  even  the 
present  extent  of  the  Russian  Empire  is  believed  by  most  of  them 
to  involve  great  dangers  for  the  future.  But  in  case  of  general  wars 
arising  out  of  complications  in  the  East,  some  States  may  always 
expect  to  derive  greater  advantages  from  an  alliance  with  Russia, 
than  from  joining  an  anti-Russian  combination.  Thus,  the  German 
Government  has  been  for  many  years  on  intimate  terms  with  the 
Government  of  Russia,  and  maj  be  expected  to  aid  Russia,  at  least 
indirectly,  in  her  Eastern  policy,  as  long  as  she  can  rely  on  a  similar 
aid  from  Russia  in  case  of  new  complications  with  France.  Even 
the  Emperor  of  Austria  attributed  so  great  importance  to  friendly 
relations  with  the  Czar  of  Russia,  that  he  formed,  in  1872,  an  agree- 
ment with  the  Emperors  of  Russia  and  Germany,  which  has  been 
known  as  the  Tri-Imperial  Alliance,  or  the  Alliance  of  the  Three 
Emperors,  and  by  which  it  was  stipulated  that  they  should  act  in 
common  in  international  complications,  and  that  neither  should  take 
an  important  step  without  first  consulting  the  others. 

The  progressing  decay  of  Turkey  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  diverg- 
ing views  of  the  great  powers  of  Europe,  in  regard  to  the  future  of 
the  Balkan  peninsula,  on  the  other,  naturally  awakened  an  immediate 
interest  of  all  Europe  in  any  Turkish  war,  and  generally  led  to  the, 
at  least  diplomatic,  interference  of  other  governments.  When  the 
intervention  of  England  and  her  allies  had  ended  the  Turkish- 
Egyptian  conflict,  the  treaties  of  1840  and  1841  formally  admitted 
Turkey  into  the  political  system  of  European  States.  The  attempt 


OUTLINE  OF  THE  EASTERN  QUESTION.  49 

of  Russia  to  extort  from  the  Porte  in  the  Crimean  war  (1853-1855) 
certain  guarantees  of  the  rights  of  the  Greek  Christians  in  Turkey, 
induced  England,  France,  and  Sardinia  to  take  sides  with  Turkey, 
on  the  ground  that  the  very  existence  of  Turkey  and  the  equilibrium 
of  power  in  Europe  were  endangered  by  Russia.  The  Treaty  of 
Paris  (1856),  while  it  expressly  denied  the  right  of  the  powers  to 
interfere  in  the  domestic  concerns  of  the  Empire,  defined  the  priv- 
ileges of  the  tributary  States,  and  made  the  powers  guarantees  of  their 
preservation,  and  referring  to  concessions  which  the  Porte  had 
promised  to  the  people  of  the  provinces  still  subject,  by  implication 
gave  the  powers  the  right  to  exert  a  moral  influence  in  favor  of  their 
being  carried  into  effect.  On  the  other  side,  the  treaty  worked  to  pre- 
vent Russia  or  any  other  State  acting  singly  from  constituting  itself  the 
especial  guardian  of  the  rights  and  interests  of  the  Christian  sub- 
jects, and  made  the  same  a  matter  of  general  European  concern. 
The  first  occasion  on  which  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  afterward 
came  up  for  discussion,  was  on  the  occasion  of  the  massacre  of 
Christians  in  Syria,  in  1860,  when  a  French  corps  was  sent,  with  the 
unwilling  consent  of  the  Porte,  to  restore  order.  It  would  have 
remained  in  Syria  after  the  emergency  which  justified  its  presence 
had  passed,  had  it  not  been  for  the  force  of  the  objections  which 
were  set  up  under  the  Paris  treaty.  The  next  occasion  was  during 
the  Cretan  insurrection  in  1866,  when  an  intervention  which  would 
have  been  a  clear  violation  of  Turkish  sovereignty  and  of  the 
Treaty  of  Paris,  seemed  imminent  for  a  considerable  time,  and  was 
barely  prevented.  In  1870,  Russia,  taking  advantage  of  a  time 
when  one  of  the  parties  to  the  Treaty  of  Paris  could  not  make 
effectual  opposition,  and  the  others  were  not  prepared  to  resist  its 
demand  by  force,  insisted  upon  an  essential  modification  of  some  of 
the  provisions  of  the  treaty,  and  obtained  them  at  the  London  con- 
ference a  few  months  afterward.  A  few  comparatively  unimpor- 
tant points  touching  the  Eastern  Question  were  brought  forward  in 
the  transactions  of  the  three  succeeding  years.  The  agitation  of  the 
demands  of  the  Bulgarians  for  ecclesiastical  autonomy,  which  was 
settled  in  1872,  prompted  some  of  the  powers  to  make  representa- 
tions of  their  views  to  the  Porte,  but  their  offices  were  not  accepted. 
In  1873,  the  Russian  Government,  after  a  correspondence,  the 
friendliness  of  which  has  been  especially  remarked  upon,  obtained 
from  the  Porte  the  grant  to  Russian  subjects  residing  in  Turkey,  of 
considerable  privileges  and  immunities  in  addition  to  those  which 


50  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

they  had  before  enjoyed.  In  1873,  the  Porte  complained  of  Ru- 
mania for  encroaching  upon  the  rights  of  the  Sultan  by  concluding 
treaties  with  foreign  powers  without  consulting  with  its  suzerain. 
In  the  course  of  the  correspondence  which  ensued,  the  Austrian, 
Russian,  and  other  Governments  informed  the  Porte  that  they  could 
not  suffer  the  important  interests  which  they  had  upon  the  Danube 
to  be  interfered  with  by  exaggerated  pretensions  of  suzerainty  on 
the  Bosphorus,  and  that  they  intended  to  carry  on  their  negotiations 
directly  with  the  Rumanian  Government.  The  Turkish  Govern- 
ment replied  that  the  Treaty  of  Paris  must  be  maintained ;  but  that 
if  Rumania  would  submit  its  case,  and  the  provisions  of  its  treaties, 
to  the  Porte,  arrangements  could  be  made  satisfactory  to  the  parties. 
About  this  time,  also,  the  Rumanian  Government  attracted  attention 
by  holding  military  maneuvers  of  a  character  which  seemed  more 
befitting  an  independent  State  than  a  principality  which  owed  alle- 
giance to  a  superior  government.  A  correspondence  took  place  be- 
tween Turkey  and  Montenegro  in  1874,  respecting  some  murders 
committed  by  Turks  upon  Montenegrins  at  Podgoritza,  in  which 
Russia  and  Germany  sought  to  promote  intervention,  but  the  Porte 
refused  to  tolerate  it,  and  the  affair  was  finally  settled  between  the 
two  parties  immediately  concerned. 

Finally,  the  Herzegovinian  insurrection,  breaking  out  in  1875, 
threatened  to  bring  up  the  whole  Eastern  Question  in  all  of  its  com- 
plications, and  actually  produced  that  result  in  the  end.  The  suc- 
cessive steps  that  were  taken  to  ensure  the  speedy  suppression  of  the 
insurrection,  to  prevent  its  spread,  to  keep  the  other  provinces  from 
participating  in  the  movement,  and  to  induce  Turkey  to  satisfy  the 
public  sentiment  of  Europe,  and  their  failure,  are  recorded  in  the 
pages  that  follow.  The  moral  aid  of  Great  Britain,  as  the  power 
supposed  to  be  most  influential  with  the  Turkish  Government,  was 
invoked  in  behalf  of  the  reasonable  requests  of  the  Christians,  and 
was  given,  in  the  British  signature  to  the  Andrassy  note  ;  but  when 
the  British  Government  was  asked  to  go  further  and  sanction  a 
threat  of  force  by  signing  the  Berlin  note,  it  declined ;  for  it  was 
determined  not  to  consent  to  a  new  European  war  upon  Turkey  un- 
der any  pretext.  After  the  failure  of  the  conference  proposed  by 
England,  and  of  the  protocol,  Russia  professed  to  consider  that  it 
had  fulfilled  all  the  conditions  of  the  Tri-Imperial  Alliance,  and  could 
be  no  longer  held  bound  by  the  restrictions  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris, 
and  decided  to  go  to  war  upon  its  own  responsibility. 


OUTLINE  OF  THE  EASTERN  QUESTION.  ^ 

"We  have  now  reviewed  all  the  different  elements  which  constitute 
the  Eastern  Question — the  hatred  of  the  Turks  by  the  Christian  prov- 
inces and  the  anxious  hope  of  the  latter  for  deliverance  from  Turk- 
ish rule ;  the  sympathy  of  Russia  with  the  Christians  of  Turkey, 
and  her  desire  for  the  crippling  of  Turkey,  and  for  her  own  aggran- 
dizement ;  the  distrust  with  which  Austrian  and  Hungarian  states- 
men look  upon  the  movements  going  on  among  the  Slavs;  the 
jealousy  of  the  ruling  British  statesmen  against  the  designs  of  Rus- 
sia. In  the  entire  history  of  the  Eastern  Question  during  the  nine- 
teenth century  it  has  been  assumed  as  granted  that  the  Turks  alone 
would  not  be  able  to  arrest  the  progressing  decay  of  their  Empire. 
The  parties  concerned  have  regarded  Turkey  as  "  the  sick  man " 
whose  consumptive  life  has  been  with  difficulty  prolonged  by  arti- 
ficial means.  The  implacable  enemies  of  the  Turks  have  repre- 
sented all  the  reforms  that  have  been  attempted  by  them,  as  mean- 
ingless and  insincere  ;  her  patrons  have  had  to  admit  that  they  were 
insufficient  to  avert  the  impending  danger.  When  the  Eastern  Ques- 
tion, in  1875,  once  more  began  to  expand  into  another  Eastern  war, 
it  was  the  common  opinion  that  without  aid  from  England  or  Aus- 
tria it  would  be  extremely  difficult,  and  perhaps  impossible,  for  Tur- 
key to  resist  the  combined  onset  of  her  own  Christian  subjects  and 
of  the  Russians. 

Before  we  enter  into  a  narrative  of  this  war,  a  brief  historical 
sketch  of  the  belligerent  powers  and  their  present  condition  will 
be  needed  to  understand  fully  the  great  events  on  the  scene  of  hos- 
tilities. 


CHAPTER  II. 

HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF   RUSSIA. 

Origin  of  the  Russians — The  Republic  of  Novgorod — Occupation  of  Russia  by  the  Mon- 
gol Tartars — Rise  of  the  Principality  of  Moscow — Ivan  the  Great,  the  First  Prince 
who  called  Himself  Czar — Ivan  the  Terrible — Michael  Romanoff— Peter  the  Great — 
Anna — Elizabeth — Catherine  the  Great — Alexander  I. — Nicholas  I. — Alexander  II. 

THE  Russian  Empire  has  attained  its  present  vast  extent  and 
power  by  a  career  of  aggression  and  conquest  which  it  has  carried 
on  almost  uninterruptedly  since  the  fifteenth  century.  Russia  first 
came  into  notice  as  a  State  in  the  ninth  century.  The  country 
known  as  Sarmatia  to  the  ancients,  had  been  occupied  by  different 
tribes,  the  principal  of  which  were  Slavs  and  Finns,  while  the 
Scythians  dwelt  in  the  south-east,  around  the  Caspian  Sea.  Nov- 
gorod, the  oldest  of  the  Russian  towns,  often  called  "  the  Mother 
of  the  Russian  cities,"  was  a  nourishing  republic  in  the  ninth 
century,  inhabited  by  Slavs,  and  surrounded  by  Finnic  settlements. 
It  became  involved  in  dissensions,  and  the  Slavs,  with  some  of  the 
Finnic  tribes,  invited  Rurik,  a  chief  of  the  Varangian  tribe  called 
Rus,  to  come  and  assist  them  and  reign  over  them.  Rurik  came 
about  the  year  862,  with  two  of  his  brothers,  both  of  whom  died 
shortly  afterward,  put  down  the  dissensions,  and  made  himself 
master  of  the  country.  The  sovereign  authority  remained  in  the 
hands  of  his  descendants  for  nearly  two  hundred  years.  The  name 
of  the  tribe  Rus.  to  which  Rurik  belonged,  is  perpetuated  in  the 
present  name  of  the  Empire.  The  story  of  Rurik,  which  is  sup- 
posed to  embody  the  history  of  the  foundation  of  the  Empire,  is 
symbolized  in  a  monument  of  original  and  peculiar  design,  which 
was  erected  in  the  principal  square  of  Novgorod  in  1862,  in  com- 
memoration of  the  thousandth  anniversary  of  that  event. 

Oleg,  who  succeeded  Rurik  as  regent,  annexed  the  principality 
of  Kiev,  designing  to  make  the  city  of  that  name  the  capital  of  the 
State,  and  made  war  upon  the  Khazars,  who  lived  between  the 
Dnieper  and  the  Caspian  Sea.  Sviatoslav,  957  to  972,  continued 
the  wars  against  the  Khazars,  attacked  the  Bulgarians  and  other 

tribes  as  far  as  the  Black  Sea,  and  extended  the  borders  of  the  State 
(52) 


MONUMENT    ERECTED    AT    NOVGOROD 

COMMEMORATING  THE  IODOTH  ANNIVERSARY  OF  THE  FOUNDING  OF  THE  RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  RUSSIA.  55 

to  the  Sea  of  Azov.  Upon  the  death  of  this  prince,  the  territory 
was  divided  among  his  sons,  and  continued  to  be  divided,  with  the 
exception  of  short  intervals  of  union,  till  the  nation  became  in  effect 
a  kind  of  a  confederacy,  of  which  the  different  members  were  rivals 
to  each  other,  and  in  dissension.  Losses  of  territory  were  suffered 
from  the  aggressions  of  the  Lithuanians,  Poles,  Teutonic  Knights,  and 
other  rival  States,  till  finally,  in  1237,  the  country  was  overrun,  and 
the  greater  part  of  it  taken  possession  of  and  made  tributary  by  the 
Mongol  Tartars,  followers  of  Genghis  Khan.  The  city  of  Novgorod 
maintained  its  independence  during  the  greater  part  of  the  two  and 
a  half  centuries  of  the  Tartar  occupation,  but  with  smaller  extraneous 
territory  and  diminishing  influence.  One  of  its  sovereigns,  Alex- 
ander Nevskoi,  1247  to  1263,  distinguished  himself  by  victories  over 
the  Swedes,  Livonians,  and  Lithuanians.  This  little  State  remained, 
during  its  whole  existence,  really  a  republic,  its  prince,  or  executive, 
possessing  merely  such  authority  as  was  freely  granted  to  him  by 
the  people.  "  The  supreme  power,"  says  "Wallace,  in  his  "  Russia," 
"  resided  not  in  the  prince,  but  in  the  assembly  of  the  citizens  called 
together  in  the  market-place  by  the  sound  of  the  great  bell."  This 
assembly  made  laws  "  for  the  prince  as  well  as  for  the  people," 
entered  into  alliances,  imposed  taxes,  and  performed  all  the  other 
functions  of  government,  including  the  election  of  magistrates  and 
the  judgment  and  deposition  of  them  when  it  thought  fit.  It  was 
its  attachment  for  their  old  institutions,  and  its  unwillingness  to 
accept  despotism  instead  of  them,  that  brought  upon  Novgorod  the 
savage  destruction  inflicted  upon  it  in  the  sixteenth  century  by  Ivan 
the  Terrible. 

The  principality  of  Moscow — from  which  Russia  was  for  a  long 
time  known  abroad  as  Muscovy — rose  into  prominence  during  the 
fourteenth  century,  and  began  to  absorb  the  other  Russian  States. 
Ivan  I.,  1328  to  1340,  united  with  it  the  principality  of  Tver.  Deme- 
trius was  engaged  in  hard  conflicts  with  the  Mongols.  Yasili  II., 
1389  to  1425,  incorporated  Nijni  Novgorod,  and  Suzdal,  and  Yasili 
III.,  1425  to  1462,  added  Halicz,  Mozhaisk,  and  Berovsk.  The 
principality  of  Moscow,  as  thus  formed,  at  the  accession  of  Ivan  III., 
the  Great,  in  1462,  was  the  nucleus  around  which  has  grown  the 
present  Empire.  It  occupied  a  territory  of  nearly  seven  hundred 
miles  in  length  from  north  to  south,  and  two  hundred  miles  in 
breadth  from  east  to  west,  situated  between  the  51st  and  61st  de- 
grees of  north  latitude,  with  the  cities  of  Nijni  Novgorod,  and  Tver 


56  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

nearly  marking  its  extreme  eastern  and  western  limits.  Ivan  the 
Great,  1462  to  1505,  delivered  the  land  entirely  from  the  Tartars, 
made  the  Khan  of  Kazan  tributary,  annexed  Novgorod,  Perm,  Pskov, 
and  several  other  Russian  principalities,  and  carried  the  Russian  arms 
into  Siberia,  in  1499,  but  was  defeated  in  a  war  with  Livonia  by  the 
Teutonic  Knights  in  1501.  Ivan  was  a  haughty  prince,  the  first  of 
the  rulers  of  Russia  to  assume  the  title  of  Czar,  and  laid  great  stress, 
in  his  intercourse  with  the  other  sovereigns  of  Europe,  on  his  equality 
with  them.  He  built  the  Kremlin  at  Moscow,  introduced  improved 
arms,  began  to  develop  the  mines  of  precious  metals,  and  introduced 
Russia  to  foreign  intercourse.  His  successor,  Vasili  IV.,  1505  to 
1533,  by  the  final  incorporation  of  Pskov,  in  1510,  completed  the  ex- 
tinction of  the  semi-independent  principalities  into  which  the  Em- 
pire had  been  divided,  and  made  the  Tartars  of  Kazan  tributary. 
At  the  close  of  his  reign,  Russia  extended  from  near  the  fiftieth  de- 
gree of  north  latitude  to  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  from  the  Ural  Moun- 
tains to  the  eastern  borders  of  Finland,  Livonia,  and  Lithuania. 
Ivan  IY.,  the  Terrible,  1533  to  1584,  who  united  with  the  most 
heinous  crimes  some  splendid  virtues,  and  was  at  once  a  scourge  and 
a  benefactor  to  Russia,  reconquered  Kazan,  subdued  Astrakhan,  and 
united  the  country  of  the  Don  with  the  Empire.  Siberia  was  con- 
quered during  his  reign  by  a  Cossack  freebooter,  Yarmak  Timofey- 
eff.  As  an  offset  to  his  victories,  he  was  forced  to  cede  Livonia  to 
the  Swedes.  So  marked  a  mixture  of  good  and  evil  as  was  this  sov- 
ereign has  seldom  appeared  in  history.  His  temper  was  so  violent, 
his  cruelties  were  so  excessive,  that  he  might  well  have  been  called 
mad,  and  he  was  totally  unscrupulous  in  many  matters  of  morals. 
He  ordered  the  city  of  Novgorod  destroyed,  and  its  inhabitants 
butchered,  in  a  fit.  of  rage,  on  account  of  the  discontent  it  had  mani- 
fested against  his  despotic  rule,  so  that  from  the  most  flourishing 
city  and  commercial  mart  of  the  North,  it  became  an  obscure  village, 
above  which  it  has  never  since  risen.  On  the  other  hand,  he  deliv- 
ered Russia  from  the  last  traces  of  Tartar  rule,  made  conquests  over 
the  Mohammedans,  opened  the  country  to  foreign  trade,  introduced 
printing,  instituted  clerical  reforms,  assembled  a  Parliament,  and 
drew  up  a  code  of  laws,  worthy  to  be  well  spoken  of.  Michael 
Romanoff,  the  founder  of  the  present  reigning  dynasty,  extended  the 
Siberian  conquests  nearly  to  the  Pacific,  arid  his  son  Alexis  restored 
or  annexed  to  the  Empire,  Tchernigov,  Smolensk,  Kiev,  and  the 
Ukraine. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  RUSSIA. 


57 


At  the  accession  of  Peter  the  Great  in  1689,  the  Russian  Empire 
had  attained  the  dimensions  of  a  great  realm,  and  presented  a  shape 
approaching  that  which  it  exhibits  at  the  present  time.  Its  Euro- 
pean possessions  had  been  extended  to  the  Caspian  Sea  and  the  Cau- 
casus Mountains,  and  it  had  acquired  territory  in  Asia  extending 
from  the  fiftieth  degree  of  north  latitude  to  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and 
covering  one  hundred  degrees  of  longitude.  Peter  devoted  his  at- 
tention principally  to  the  development  of  the  material  resources  and 
the  improvement  of  the  civilization  of  his  country.  The  story  of 
his  journeys  in  Europe,  and  his  working  disguised  in  ship-yards, 
and  inspecting  the  armaments  and  workshops  of  different  nations,  in 
order  to  become  personally  acquainted  with  the  arts  which  had  made 
them  strong,  and  introduce  them  to  his  own  country,  has  been  told 
very  often,  and  is  known  to  every  reader.  To  him,  more  than  to 
any  of  his  predecessors  or  all  of  them  together,  is  due  the  wonderful 
progress  which  Russia  has  made,  and  the  position  it  has  attained 
among  the  nations.  He  added  to  the  territory  of  the  Empire,  In- 
gria,  part  of  Karelia,  Esthonia,  and  Livonia  from  Sweden,  Dagh- 
estan  and  other  territories  on  the  Caspian  Sea,  from  Persia,  and  the 
towns  of  Baku  and  Derbent.  The  Persian  acquisitions  were  lost 
under  Anna,  1730  to  1740,  but  in  recompense  she  made  the  Kirghiz 
tributary,  completed  the  incorporation  of  Siberia  to  Behring's  Straits, 
and  added  the  Aleutian  Islands.  Elizabeth,  1741  to  1762,  gained  some 
districts  of  Finland.  At  the  close  of  her  reign,  the  extreme  western 
boundary  of  the  Empire  was  the  Baltic  Sea,  its  extreme  eastern 
point  was  near  the  coast  of  North  America,  and  it  stretched  through 
more  than  one  hundred  and  sixty  degrees  of  longitude.  Catherine 
the  Great,  whose  reign  from  1762  to  1796  was  a  long  .and  splendid 
one  of  unprincipled  conquest,  added  nearly  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  thousand  square  miles  of  territory  to  the  Empire,  including  the 
country  of  the  Kirghiz,  Courland,  the  Crimea,  Azov,  and  Russian 
Poland.  To  this  sovereign  is  ascribed  the  origin  of  the  policy  which 
has  been  imputed  to  Russia,  of  systematic  aggression  against  Turkey, 
for  the  sake  of  acquiring  Constantinople,  and  establishing  a  new 
Christian  Empire  of  the  East. 

Alexander  I.,  1801  to  1825,  was  distinguished  for  his  conspicuous 
participation  in  the  wars  against  Napoleon,  in  the  course  of  which 
the  boundaries  of  the  States  of  Europe  were  changed  very  often. 
Russia  gained  and  lost,  along  with  the  rest  of  the  States  which  were 
engaged  in  these  wars,  but  permanently  lost  little.  At  the  end  of 


58  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

the  reign  of  Alexander,  it  had  gained  all  the  provinces  of  Georgia, 
the  district  of  Bialystock,  Finland,  the  Aland  Islands,  a  part  of 
Bothnia,  and  the  peninsula  of  Alaska,  in  North  America.  Alexan- 
der, with  the  Emperor  of  Austria  and  the  King  of  Prussia,  formed 
the  Holy  Alliance,  under  the  operation  of  which  the  aspirations  of 
the  people  for  freedom,  awakened  by  the  career  of  Napoleon,  were 
trampled  down,  and  the  States  of  continental  Europe  were  placed 
and  kept  for  a  whole  generation  under  the  rule  of  petty  sovereigns 
who  were  mostly  foreign  to  them,  and  whom  they  hated,  but  were 
prevented  by  the  powers  of  the  Alliance  from  removing. 

The  reign  of  Nicholas,  1825  to  1855,  was  severe  and  prosperous 
at  the  beginning,  but  ended  in  misfortune.  Until  the  occurrence  of 
the  war  in  the  Crimea,  Russia  shared  with  Austria  the  predominance 
in  the  councils  of  the  European  States,  and  was  the  object  of  anxious 
regard  and  dread  on  the  part  of  the  other  great  powers.  The  rule 
of  this  Czar  was  aggressive  and  domineering  toward  other  nations, 
and  intensely  despotic  toward  his  own  people.  He  instituted  the 
cruel  policy  which  has  resulted  in  crushing  out  entirely  the  nation- 
ality of  Poland,  and  abolishing  its  separate  administration.  In  pur- 
suance of  this  policy,  he  banished  tens  of  thousands  of  Poles  to 
Siberia,  and  gave  the  appearance  of  reality  to  the  purpose  he  is  said 
to  have  expressed  of  making  a  Siberia,  that  is  a  waste,  of  Poland, 
and  a  Poland,  that  is  a  well  populated  country,  of  Siberia.  Not  only 
were  Poles  sent  to  Siberia  ;  men  from  all  parts  of  the  Empire,  ac- 
cused of  every  kind  of  offense,  but  chiefly  of  those  of  a  political 
character,  were  consigned  to  that  inhospitable  region  as  to  a  prison, 
until  the  dread  of  being  sent  to  this  place  of  exile  became  a  com- 
mon misery  to  all  distinguished  Russians.  Nicholas  co-operated 
with  Austria  in  repressing  the  popular  uprisings  of  1848,  and  in  en- 
deavoring to  perpetuate  the  system  of  autocracy  which  had  been 
imposed  upon  Europe  by  the  Holy  Alliance.  He  lent  efficient  aid 
in  the  cruel  suppression  of  the  Hungarian  revolution,  and  to  this  is 
owing  in  part  the  present  attitude  of  the  Hungarians  of  unwaver- 
ing and  intense  hostility  to  every  Russian  interest  and  every  friend 
of  Russia,  and  their  disposition  to  favor  the  Turks.  Under  this 
sovereign,  Russia  suffered  the  most  disastrous  defeats  it  has  encoun- 
tered since  its  conquest  by  the  Tartars,  in  the  Crimean  war,  when 
France,  England,  and  Sardinia  assisted  the  Porte  in  repelling  its  at- 
tacks upon  the  Turkish  sovereignty.  Russia  lost  in  this  war  a  part 
of  its  territory  in  Bessarabia  and  around  the  mouths  of  the  Danube, 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  RUSSIA. 


59 


and  was  obliged  to  submit  to  restrictions  upon  its  privileges  in  the 
Black  Sea,  to  forego  all  its  claims  to  the  right  to  interfere  in  behalf 
of  the  Christian  subjects  of  Turkey,  and  to  see  its  predominance 
in  the  councils  of  Europe  disappear,  to  be  replaced  first  by  that  of 
France,  later  by  that  of  Germany.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the 
efforts  of  Nicholas  to  repress  the  progress  of  popular  development 
have  all  failed,  and  that  the  condition  of  Europe  is,  to-day,  the  reverse 
of  what  he  would  have  had  it.  Hungary  is  free  and  self -governed. 
Austria  has  suffered  the  introduction  of  popular  institutions,  and 
eveiy  State  in  Europe  enjoys  a  constitutional  government,  except 
Russia.  The  additions  to  Russian  power  made  by  Nicholas  were 
the  gain  of  Erivan  and  Nakhitchevan,  and  of  the  exclusive  con- 
trol of  the  Caspian  Sea. 

The  reign  of  the  present  Emperor  Alexander  II.  has  been  one  of 
the  most  prosperous  and  liberal  in  Russian  history.  Previous  great 
Czars  have  sought  chiefly  the  development  of  the  material  resources 
and  the  moral  and  physical  strength  of  the  State  as  a  political  unit. 
Alexander's  policy  has  been  aimed  at  the  culture  and  the  ameliora- 
tion of  the  condition  of  the  people.  The  emancipation  of  the  serfs, 
is  one  of  the  noblest  acts  of  humanity  on  record.  Except  for  the 
wars  with  the  Turkomans  of  Central  Asia,  which,  like  our  wars  with 
the  Indians  and  the  wars  of  the  British  in  India,  have  been  rather 
wars  of  necessity  than  of  conquest,  his  reign  has  been  one  of  peac3, 
and  under  it  the  country  has  made  great  advances  in  the  arts  and 
sciences.  It  has  been  marred  by  continued  cruelties  in  Poland, 
by  the  despotic  efforts  to  repress  the  local  languages  of  the  prov- 
inces, and  by  religious  persecutions,  which  seem  to  be  still  pursued 
as  a  part  of  the  settled  policy  of  the  Imperial  Administration  to 
make  the  population  of  the  Empire  a  unit  in  religion,  language,  and 
customs.  The  present  reign  has  been  distinguished  also  by  the  devel- 
opment of  the  Panslavic  idea  in  the  steady  cultivation  of  the  doctrine 
of  the  unity  of  the  Slavic  race,  and  by  efforts  to  create  a  public 
opinion  in  all  the  Slavic  States  in  and  out  of  Russia  in  favor  of  the 
separation  of  the  people  of  that  race  from  political  associations  with 
other  races,  and  their  organization  into  distinct  States  to  be  ruled  or 
protected  by  Russia.  Alexander  has  added  to  the  Russian  Empire 
the  territories  of  the  Khanates  of  Central  Asia,  and  the  region  of 
the  Amoor  River  in  extreme  Eastern  Asia ;  but  has,  on  the  other 
hand,  ceded  by  sale  to  the  United  States  the  territory  of  Alaska  in 
North  America. 


6o 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


The  following  tables  exhibit  at  a  view  the  steady  growth  of  Russia 
ill  territory  and  population : 

English 
Square  Miles. 

In  1462  the  Czardom  of  Muscovy  contained  about 382,700 

In  1505  Russia  contained  about 510,300 


In  1584 
In  1650 
In  1689 
In  1730 
In  1775 
In  1868 
In  1877 


1,530,800 
5,038,800 
5,953,000 
6,888,500 
7,122,300 
7,866,500 
8,391,800 


The  population  of  the  Empire  in  1722,  when  the  first  census  was 
taken,  was  fourteen  millions ;  in  1742  it  was  sixteen  millions ;  in 
1762,  nineteen  millions;  in  1782,  twenty-eight  millions;  in  1796, 
thirty-six  millions;  in  1812,  forty-one  millions;  in  1815,  forty-five 
millions ;  in  1835,  sixty  millions ;  in  1851,  sixty-eight  millions :  in 
1858,  seventy-seven  millions ;  in  1875,  86,486,000. 


RUSSIAN    PEASANTS. 


CHAPTER  III. 

CONDITION    OF    RUSSIA. 

The  Races  of  Russia — Backwardness  of  Civilization — Abolition  of  Serfdom — Public  In- 
struction— Russia  the  only  State  in  Europe  without  a  Representative  Form  of  Gov- 
ernment— The  Policy  of  Russianizatioh — Religious  Intolerance— Agricultural  Re- 
sources— Scarcity  of  Large  Towns — The  Village  Commune — The  Provincial  Assem- 
bly—The Russian  Church  and  the  Dissenters— The  Army,  Navy,  and  Finances  of 
Russia. 

THE  dominant  population  in  Russia  is  of  the  Slavic  race.  Four- 
fifths  of  the  entire  population  of  the  Empire  belong  to  this  race, 
and  it  predominates  in  a  large  majority  of  the  provincial  govern- 
ments. To  it  belong  the  Great,  Little,  and  White  Russians, 
inhabiting  Russia  proper,  and  numbering  forty-nine  millions,  the 
Bulgarians,  Servians,  and  other  Slavic  people  living  in  different 
parts  of  the  Empire,  and  the  Slavs  of  Poland  and  Lithuania,  who 
number  some  seven  millions.  The  Slavs  are,  for  the  most  part, 
attached  to  the  orthodox  Greek  Church,  but  the  Poles  are  Roman 
Catholic.  Next  to  the  Slavs  in  importance  and  influence  are  the 
Finns,  numbering  3,038,000,  and  the  Lithuanians,  numbering 
2,343,000.  Jews  are  found  in  the  commercial  centers,  most  largely 
in  Poland,  to  the  number  of  2,800,000,  and  Armenians  and  Greeks 
in  the  southern  Asiatic  and  European  parts  of  the  Empire  in  lesser 
numbers.  Russians  form  the  predominant  race  in  Siberia,  but  there 
are  many  Mongol  tribes  in  that  region,  mostly  Pagans  or  Buddhists 
in  religion.  The  rest  of  Asiatic  Russia,  from  the  southern  borders  of 
Siberia  down  to  the  Persian  frontier,  is  inhabited  by  the  Mohamme- 
dan Tartars,  Turkomans,  and  Caucasians,  all  more  or  less  dissatisfied 
with  Russian  rule,  but  kept  in  subjection  partly  by  interest,  partly 
by  force.  The  Slavs  and  Finns  are  loyal  to  the  Empire,  but  the 
Poles  and  Mohammedans  can  not  be  relied  upon. 

Russia,  as  well  as  Turkey,  is  behind  the  most  advanced  nations 
in  civilization.  Russia  has  only  emerged  from  barbarism  within  the 
past  two  hundred  years,  and  although  it  has  within  that  period 
established  several  centers  of  the  highest  civilization,  is  still  obliged 
to  see  a  large  part  of  its  rural  population  lingering  in  a  state  of 
primitive  simplicity  as  to  knowledge  and  the  arts.  The  Russians 
4  '  (63) 


64  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

are  of  the  same  religion,  the  Christian,  and  the  same  great  race,  the 
Indo-Germanic,  or  Aryan,  with  the  most  advanced  nations  of  the 
world,  and  may  readily  sympathize  and  co-operate  with  them  in  all 
general  movements.  Since  the  days  of  Peter  the  Great,  they  have 
striven  to  emulate  other  nations,  and  have  thus  been  drawn  into 
the  atmosphere  of  civilization.  Having  risen  by  its  vast  strength 
to  the  rank  of  one  of  the  Great  Powers  of  the  world,  and  to  be 
associated  on  equal  terms  with  the  leaders  of  civilization,  while  it 
still  remained  far  behind  in  culture,  Russia  has  felt  itself  instinct- 
ively and  peremptorily  compelled  to  try  to  make  itself  equal  in  all 
respects  to  its  neighbors.  "With  this  object  it  has  made  all  possible 
efforts  to  promote  the  intellectual  and  social  advancement  of  its 
people.  Rulers,  the  higher  classes,  and  the  people,  have  all  joined 
in  the  efforts  according  to  their  capacity  and  degree  of  understand- 
ing of  its  object,  and  great  progress  has  been  made.  Serfdom  has 
been  abolished,  a  great  social  reorganization  has  been  undertaken, 
education  has  been  promoted,  and  a  literature  has  been  developed, 
respectable  and  voluminous  enough  to  receive  the  attention  and  the 
praises  of  foreign  critics. 

The  abolition  of  serfdom  was  an  event  in  the  progress  of  the  Em- 
pire quite  as  important,  and  destined  to  have  as  influential  a  bearing 
on  the  civilization  of  the  country  as  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the 
United  States.  It  was  effected  by  a  decree  of  the  Czar  Alexander 
II.,  issued  on  the  3d  of  March,  1861,  and  was  a  measure  carried  out 
solely  in  the  interest  of  civilization.  It  was  applied  to  the  whole 
Empire,  and  elevated  to  freedom  twenty-two  million  serfs  belong- 
ing to  private  owners,  and  a  still  larger  number  belonging  to  the 
crown,  making  free  in  all  44.225,075  men  and  women,  or  more  than 
one-half  the  population  of  the  Empire,  who  had  before  been  attached 
to  the  soil  as  a  part  of  the  real  estate.  Provision  was  made  at  the 
same  time  for  the  assignment  of  a  portion  of  land  to  the  emanci- 
pated serfs ;  and  in  order  that  the  great  act  might  be  accomplished 
without  injustice,  a  plan  was  devised  for  the  reimbursement  of  the 
former  owners  for  their  loss  in  estate.  The  serf  was  held  to  pay 
twenty  per  cent,  of  his  capital  value  directly  to  the  holder  to  whom 
he  had  been  attached ;  while  the  Government  advanced  the  remain- 
ing eighty  per  cent,  within  five  years,  to  be  repaid  by  the  freedman 
in  forty-nine  years.  All  of  the  arrangements  for  abolition  were 
completed  at  the  end  of  July,  1865,  when  serfdom  may  be  said  to 
have  technically  ceased  to  exist  in  Russia.  It  appears,  however,  by 


CONDITION  OF  RUSSIA.  65 

a  report  recently  published  in  the  Golos,  of  St.  Petersburg,  that 
there  are  still  two  million  serfs  in  the  country  whose  emancipation 
has  not  been  effected,  either  in  consequence  of  the  high  price  of  the 
land  or  of  their  own  unwillingness  to  accept  the  new  state  of  things. 

The  system  of  Public  Instruction  has  been  gradually  developed, 
and  although  it  is  still  imperfectly  and  insufficiently  applied,  has 
been  greatly  improved  within  a  few  years.  The  schools  are  not  all 
under  one  head  of  administration,  as  is  the  case  in  most  other  coun- 
tries ;  but  each  ministry  has  a  number  of  special  schools  under  its 
own  control,  while  some  are  conducted  by  the  clergy,  thus  prevent- 
ing full  unity  in  organization.  Primary  instruction  is  regulated  by 
the  law  of  1874,  which  provided  for  the  establishment  and  conduct 
of  four  classes  of  schools :  primary  schools  under  the  direction  of  the 
clergy ;  similar  schools,  both  public  and  private,  under  the  direction  of 
the  Minister  of  Public  Instruction ;  elementary  schools,  supported  by 
the  communes  and  under  the  control  of  other  ministries ;  and  Sunday- 
schools.  The  usual  elementary  branches  are  taught  in  these  schools, 
and  the  use  of  the  Russian  language  is  obligatory.  District  or  circle 
schools  are  established  in  the  center  of  every  circle  for  the  children 
of  the  merchants,  trades-people,  and  other  inhabitants  of  the  cities, 
in  which  some  degree  of  academic  instruction  is  afforded,  and  teach- 
ers' institutes  have  been  established  in  connection  with  them.  The 
Empire — except  Finland,  which  has  its  own  administration;  the 
Caucasus,  which  is  administered  by  its  Governor ;  and  Central  Asia 
— is  divided  for  school  purposes  into  nine  districts,  in  which  the  pro- 
vision of  schools  and  the  attendance  are  very  unequal.  The  average 
of  the  whole  is  about  one  school  for  every  3,100,  and  one  pupil  for 
every  eighty  inhabitants.  Secondary  instruction  is  afforded  in  455 
gymnasia  of  various  grades  and  under  different  administrations, 
which  were  attended  in  1877  by  87,775  pupils ;  and  instruction  in 
special  branches  is  furnished  by  upward  of  three  hundred  theologi- 
cal, military,  naval,  technical,  and  other  schools.  The  eight  univer- 
sities had  in  1875  five  hundred  and  sixty-nine  instructors  and  6,408 
students.  A  beginning  has  been  made  for  introducing  compulsory 
education  at  St.  Petersburg. 

The  Press  is  held  under  a  strict  censorship,  the  direction  of  which 
is  in  the  office  of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  with  special  censor- 
commissions  or  single  censors  in  the  principal  cities.  Under  the 
rules  of  this  office  the  publication  is  forbidden  of  articles  against  the 
dogmas  of  the  orthodox  Church,  against  the  form  of  government  or 


66  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

the  person  of  the  Czar  or  any  member  of  his  family,  and  of  slanders 
upon  any  private  person.  The  publication  of  any  information  con- 
cerning the  Imperial  family  is  forbidden  until  permission  has  been 
granted.  The  censorship  applies  to  books  and  music  as  well  as  to 
newspapers.  Of  late  years  the  severity  of  the  censorship  has  under- 
gone a  practical  relaxation,  so  that  journals  have  been  allowed  con- 
siderable freedom  in  the  discussion  of  political  and  social  topics,  so 
long  as  they  do  not  criticise  the  pet  schemes  of  the  Government. 
The  Press  laws  have  been  enforced  with  constant  rigor  against  the 
papers  in  the  Baltic  provinces  and  Poland,  which  have  spoken  too 
freely  against  the  Russianizing  measures  of  the  Government ;  and 
several  papers  in  different  parts  of  the  Empire  were  suspended  in 
1875  for  their  indiscreet  utterances.  In  the  year  1873,  409  periodi- 
cals were  published  in  Russia,  of  which  twenty-two  received  a  sup- 
port from  the  Government.  Literary  activity  has  only  recently  been 
largely  developsd  in  Russia.  It  has,  however,  already  become  quite 
vigorous;  books  are  rapidly  multiplying,  and  a  high  standard  of 
merit  has  been  reached,  insuring  to  Russian  works  favorable  atten- 
tion in  the  most  cultivated  literary  circles.  The  most  prominent 
works  are  of  fiction,  which  have  a  marked,  distinctive  character,  of 
science,  and  of  Oriental  philology,  in  which  Russian  scholarship  has 
made  a  very  creditable  mark. 

In  point  of  political  administration  and  religious  liberty,  Russia  is 
behind  every  other  civilized  nation.  Alone  among  the  important 
European  States,  it  has  not  yet  attained  a  representative  govern- 
ment. The  Czar  exercises  the  authority  as  well  as  bears  the  title  of 
an  autocrat,  and  governs  the  Empire  through  boards  of  his  own  ap- 
pointment, which  carry  out  his  will.  It  has  been  the  policy  of  the 
Government  to  allow  conquered  or  annexed  provinces  to  preserve 
for  a  time  their  old  institutions.  The  Grand  Duchy  of  Finland 
keeps  its  ancient  Constitution,  reserved  to  it  by  a  special  grant.  In 
other  conquered  provinces,  administrative  independence  has  been 
gradually  taken  away.  Thus  Poland  had  a  separate  Government  till 
1864,  when  it  was  placed  under  the  rule  of  a  Council  of  State,  and 
is  now,  under  a  new  regulation,  governed  directly  from  St.  Peters- 
burg. A  beginning  was  made  several  years  ago,  for  the  organization 
of  Provincial  Legislatures,  but  they  have  never  attained  any  real 
efficiency.  The  Empire  is  divided  into  General  Governments,  or 
viceroyalties,  governments,  and  districts,  besides  a  number  of  prov- 
inces which,  on  account  of  the  thinness  of  their  population,  have  not 


CONDITION  OF  RUSSIA.  67 

been  organized  into  regular  governments.  The  Governors-General, 
or  Viceroys,  are  appointed  by  the  Emperor,  and  represent  him,  and 
have  supreme  control  of  all  affairs,  and  the  direction  of  all  under- 
officers.  Even  the  judgments  of  the  courts  are  subject  to  their  revi- 
sion. Each  general  governor  has  to  assist  him  a  civil  governor  and 
council,  who,  however,  have  no  independent  functions.  Only  in 
local  parish  and  district  affairs  has  any  one  but  the  Czar  authority. 
Here,  for  a  paradox,  we  have  popular  government  in  its  simplest  and 
purest  form.  The  whole  country  is  divided  into  communities  which 
are  called  Jfir,  and  these  are  formed  into  Valosti,  or  districts  of 
about  two  thousand  inhabitants  each.  The  communes  and  districts 
elect  their  own  officers  and  assemblies,  which  discuss  and  decide  all 
questions  relating  to  such  affairs  as  the  division  of  the  field,  the 
arrangement  of  tenancies,  the  distribution  of  taxes,  accounts,  recruit- 
ing, the  admission  of  new  members,  complaints  to  the  Czar,  and  the 
like.  The  communal  assemblies  meet  three  times  a  year.  The  peo- 
ple of  the  villages  also  choose  tribunals  which  have  jurisdiction  of 
small  offenses  and  disputes  relating  to  property  below  a  certain 
amount. 

Some  of  the  most  remarkable  manifestations  of  Russian  ideas  and 
policy  have  been  seen  in  the  measures  of  the  Government  for  the 
Russian ization  of  the  non-Russian  people,  in  political  system,  relig- 
ion, and  language.  The  gradual  abolition  of  the  institutions  of  Po- 
land has  been  mentioned.  A  similar  process  has  been  adopted  in 
other  parts  of  the  Empire.  Great  stress  has  been  laid  upon  securing 
the  universal  use  of  the  Russian  language.  Compulsion  has  been 
employed  to  make  it  the  language  of  the  schools  and  the  Church, 
and  to  banish  other  languages  from  the  books  and  the  newspapers. 
The  idea  of  making  a  single  languags  current,  and  generally  under- 
stood throughout  the  Empire,  is  in  accordance  with  a  general  ten- 
dency of  our  times ;  but  to  resort  to  force,  and  infringe  upon  domes- 
tic rights,  as  has  been  done  in  Poland  and  the  Baltic  provinces,  is 
certainly  not  consistent  with  even  a  moderate  degree  of  civilization. 
It  may  be  a  benefit  to  confer  upon  the  barbarous  tribes  of  the  East 
a  language  of  civilization  and  literature,  but  the  attempt  to  force  it 
upon  an  unwilling  people,  already  in  possession  of  such  cultured 
languages  as  the  Polish  and  German,  is  reprehensible. 

Both  Russia  and  Turkey  are  countries  of  vast  natural  resources, 
which  are  as  yet  almost  wholly  undeveloped.  Agriculture  is  the 
leading  pursuit  in  either  Empire.  In  Russia  it  must  always  be  the 


68  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

main  reliance  of  the  mass  of  the  population ;  and  in  comparison  with 
the  extent  of  agricultural  development  which  the  land  is  destined  to 
receive,  other  industries  will  be  of  less  importance.  The  capabilities 
of  the  land  of  Russia  for  agriculture  are,  however,  by  no  means  com- 
mensurate with  the  extent  of  the  territory.  A  large  part  of  the  soil 
must  be  forever  untillable.  The  northern  slope,  extending  from  the 
Ural-Baltic  table-land  to  the  Arctic  Ocean,  lies  under  a  climate  which 
imposes  rigorous  limits  upon  the  amount  and  variety  of  production ; 
a  large  part  of  it  is  occupied  by  swamps,  or  the  tundras,  and  the  ex- 
treme northern  border  is  frozen  during  nearly  the  whole  year.  The 
middle  zone,  between  the  Ural-Baltic  and  the  Ural-Carpathian  table- 
lands, is  occupied  in  the  western  part  by  extensive  forests  of  fir  and 
large  tracts  of  fodder  grass,  but  in  the  east  contains  great  swamps. 
The  soil  of  this  district  is  very  fertile,  and  capable  of  productive  cul- 
tivation. Much  of  Asiatic  Russia,  as  in  the  steppes  of  Turkistan  and 
the  Caspian,  is  desert,  chilled  by  Arctic  winds  during  most  of  the  year, 
and  scorched  by  a  burning  sun  during  the  rest.  In  Southern  Russia 
lie  the  great  wheat-fields  which  have  made  this  Empire  the  third 
principal  grain-producing  nation  on  the  earth,  only  the  United  States 
and  France  exceeding  it  in  production.* 

Besides  wheat,  the  leading  agricultural  products  of  Russia  are 
rye,  barley,  oats,  buckwheat,  and  millet,  which  are  consumed  in  the 
country,  and  hemp  and  flax,  which  form  considerable  items  in  the 
export  trade.  The  cultivation  of  the  sugar-beet,  and  the  manufac- 
ture of  beet  sugar,  make  a  considerable  figure  in  the  table  of  pro- 
ductions. Tobacco,  Indian-corn,  and  vines  in  the  Crimea  and 
Bessarabia,  and  along  the  river  Don,  and  garden  products  form 


*  The  amount  of  grain  production  of  the  three  States  we  have  named,  was,  according 
to  the  reports  published  by  the  English  Board  of  Trade  at  the  beginning  of  1877 :  For 
the  United  States,  1874,  308,000,000  bushels  ;  for  France,  1873,  230,000,000  bushels  ;  and 
for  Russia,  1872, 158,000,000  bushels.  The  grain  trade  of  Russia,  however,  does  not  seem 
to  be  increasing,  but  rather  diminishing,  under  the  pressure  of  competition  from  the 
United  States,  Canada,  South  America,  and  India.  A  few  years  ago,  England  drew  from 
Russia  a  far  larger  supply  of  grain  than  from  any  other  country.  Suddenly,  in  1874,  ac- 
cording to  a  statement  made  in  England,  the  exports  of  the  United  States  made  a  great 
bound  forward,  and  every  year  since,  they  have  more  and  more  exceeded  the  Russian, 
until  in  the  agricultural  year  ending  with  the  harvest  of  1876,  the  United  States  and  Can- 
ada sent  to  England  nearly  one-half  its  whole  foreign  imports,  while  Russia  sent  it  only 
one-seventh.  "In  fact,"  it  is  stated,  "while  the  Russian  imports  have  fallen  one-third, 
American  have  trebled  since  1872."  The  cultivation  of  wheat  is  very  imperfect  in  Russia, 
as  the  same  returns  from  which  we  have  quoted  state  that  the  average  crop  is  only  five 
and  a  half  bushels,  while  in  the  United  States  it  is  twelve  and  one-half  bushels,  to  the 
acre.  Tho  chief  point  of  export  for  Russian  wheat  is  at  Odessa,  on  the  Black  Sea. 


CONDITION  OF  RUSSIA.  69 

smaller,  but  by  no  means  unimportant  items.  The  wooded  districts 
give  large  supplies  of  timber — firs  in  the  North ;  oaks,  limes,  ashes, 
and  maples  in  the  South,  which  are  floated  down  the  rivers  to  the 
more  scantily-timbered  districts. 

The  grass-covered  plains  afford  excellent  facilities  for  raising  live- 
stock. Horses  are  abundant  and  of  excellent  quality,  good  animals 
for  general  service  being  obtained  from  the  Cossacks,  Kalmucks,  and 
Kirghiz,  strong  and  hardy  horses  from  Yiatka,  Kazan,  and  Finland, 
while  a  more  highly-bred  class  are  raised  in  the  breeding-stables 
encouraged  by  the  Government.  A  census  report  records  the  num. 
ber  of  horses  in  the  whole  Empire'  at  about  eighteen  million  head. 
Of  other  live-stock,  Russia  contains  about  twenty-one  million  head 
of  cattle,  forty-five  million  sheep,  and  nine  million  pigs. 

The  Government  has  taken  pains  to  encourage  manufacturing  in- 
dustry, and  has  gained  a  good  measure  of  success.  The  more  im- 
portant manufactures  are  those  of  textile  fabrics  of  wool,  linen, 
hemp,  and  cotton,  and  of  leather.  Many  minerals  and  metals  are 
found  in  the  country,  and  a  large  industry  is  employed  in  the  min- 
ing and  manufacture  of  coal,  coal-oil,  iron,  copper,  bronze,  zinc,  and 
other  metal  and  metallic  products  in  smaller  quantities.  The  Govern- 
ment endeavors  to  foster  the  industries  and  encourage  the  production 
of  the  country  in  every  way,  but  the  high  rates  of  taxation  which 
other  exigencies  demand  are  a  great  drawback  to  enterprise. 

The  great  rivers  are  valuable  aids  to  commerce.  To  them  the 
Government  has  added  a  system  of  railroads,  of  which  12,945  miles- 
had  been  constructed  on  the  1st  of  January,  1877,  and  about  1,324' 
miles  more  were  under  way.  The  length  of  telegraph  lines  on  the 
1st  of  January,  1876,  was  58,675  miles,  and  the  number  of  post- 
offices  was  3,415.  Foreign  commerce  and  the  coasting  trade  are 
carried  on  by  a  fleet  of  twenty-five  hundred  and  twelve  sea-going 
vessels,  and  the  rivers  of  the  Empire  bear  three  hundred  and  eighty- 
five  steamers.  A  peculiar  feature  in  the  distribution  of  population 
is  the  small  number  of  large  towns.  In  the  whole  of  European 
Russia  proper — this  term  excluding  Finland,  the  Baltic  provinces, 
Lithuania,  Poland,  and  the  Caucasus,  which  are  countries  annexed 
and  not  socially  Russian — there  are  only  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
seven  towns  of  more  than  ten  thousand,  twenty-five  of  more  than 
25,000,  and  eleven  of  more  than  50,000  inhabitants ;  and  only  one- 
tenth  part  of  the  entire  population  are  dwellers  in  towns,  while  in 
England  more  than  one-half  the  inhabitants  live  in  towns. 


70  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

The  peculiar  feature  of  tlie  Russian  social  organization  is  the 
Tillage  Commune,  or  Mir.  This  institution  has  primarily  to  do 
with  the  allotment  of  the  land  among  the  inhabitants  who  are  en- 
titled to  share  in  its  use,  but  its  functions  have  been  extended  to 
embrace  nearly  all  the  concerns  of  the  local  life.  The  lands  of  the 
Commune  are  held  in  common  by  all  of  its  inhabitants,  each  family 
of  whom  has  a  fixed,  inalienable  right  to  a  home  and  its  proportion- 
ate share  of  the  privilege  of  tillage  and  pasturage.  If  the  amount 
of  land  is  more  than  sufficient  for  the  wants  of  the  village,  as  is  the 
case  in  many  communes,  these  rights  are  practically  unlimited.  If 
there  is  no  excess  of  land,  the  rights  of  each  family  are  defined, 
and  whoever  wishes  to  enjoy  more  than  his  share,  must  pay  for  the 
privilege.  Besides  superintending  the  division  of  the  land,  the 
Commune  is  charged  with  the  duty  of  assessing  the  taxes  and  trans- 
mitting the  moneys  received  from  this  source  to  the  Central  Bureau. 
Each  Commune  is  charged  with  an  amount  of  taxes  proportioned  to 
the  number  of  its  male  inhabitants  as  they  appear  in  the  official 
lists,  and  in  its  turn  distributes  the  charge  among  the  persons  en- 
titled to  share  in  the  communal  privileges.  The  lists  for  the  whole 
Empire  are  revised  at  irregular  intervals,  when  the  Commune  makes 
a  new  division  of  the  lands  and  a  new  assessment  of  the  taxes.  As 
important  changes  may  often  take  place  in  the  relations  of  the 
families  between  the  periods  of  revision,  which  have  averaged  fif- 
teen years,  the  Communal  Assemblies  are  sometimes  called  upon  at 
shorter  periods  to  make  adjustments  of  distribution  in  favor  of 
equity,  and  each  Commune  does  this  in  its  own  way.  The  affairs  of 
the  Commune  are  administered  by  the  Village  Assembly,  of  which 
all  the  heads  of  households  are  members.  The  authority  of  this 
body  having  never  been  legally  defined,  has  become  extended  so  as 
to  cover  nearly  all  the  details  of  the  village  life  and  some  personal 
matters.  According  to  Mr.  D.  Mackenzie  Wallace,  in  his  "  Russia," 
"  It  fixes  the  time  for  making  the  hay,  and  the  day  for  commencing 
the  plowing  of  the  fallow- field ;  it  decrees  what  measures  shall  bo 
employed  against  those  who  do  not  punctually  pay  their  taxes  ;  it, 
decides  whether  a  new  member  shall  be  admitted  into  the  Com- 
mune, and  whether  an  old  member  shall  be  allowed  to  change  his 
domicile  ;  it  gives  or  withholds  permission  to  erect  new  buildings 
on  the  Communal  land ;  it  prepares  and  signs  all  contracts  which 
the  Commune  makes  with  one  of  its  own  members  or  with  a  stran- 
ger ;  it  interferes,  whenever  it  thinks  necessary,  in  the  domestic 


A    COSSACK. 


CONDITION  OF  RUSSIA. 


73 


affairs  of  its  members."  It  elects  the  village  officers,  and  allots  the 
lands.  In  illustration  of  its  authority  in  matters  more  particularly 
personal,  Mr.  Wallace  says :  "  If  a  peasant  becomes  a  drunkard, 
or  takes  some  equally  efficient  means  to  become  insolvent,  every 
family  in  the  village  has  a  right  to  complain,  not  merely  in  the  in- 
terests of  public  morality,  but  from  selfish  motives,  because  all  the 
families  are  collectively  responsible  for  his  taxes.  For  the  same 
reason,  no  peasant  can  permanently  leave  the  village  without  the 
consent  of  the  Commune,  and  this  consent  will  not  be  granted  until 
the  applicant  gives  satisfactory  security  for  the  fulfillment  of  all  his 
actual  and  future  liabilities.  If  a  peasant  wishes  to  go  away  for  a 
short  time,  in  order  to  work  elsewhere,  he  must  obtain  a  written 
permission,  which  serves  him  as  a  passport  during  his  absence  ;  and 
he  may  be  recalled  at  any  moment  by  a  Communal  decree.  In 
reality  he  is  rarely  recalled  so  long  as  he  sends  home  regularly  the 
full  amount  of  his  taxes." 

The  Commune  is  supplemented  by  the  Zemstvo,  or  District 
Assembly,  a  body  which  was  created  about  ten  years  ago  by  an 
Imperial  Ukase,  to  have  the  charge  of  those  public  wants  which 
it  is  beyond  the  reach  of  the  Communal  Assembly  to  provide  for. 
It  has  the  care  of  the  repairs  of  the  roads  and  bridges,  of  the  pro- 
vision of  means  of  conveyance  for  public  officers,  of  educational 
and  sanitary  affairs,  looks  after  the  condition  of  the  crops,  provides 
against  the  danger  of  scarcity,  etc.  It  consists  of  an  assembly  of 
deputies,  who  are  elected  every  three  years  by  the  landed  proprie- 
tors, communes,  and  municipal  corporations,  and  which  meets  every 
year,  and  of  a  permanent  executive  bureau  elected  by  the  assembly 
from  among  its  members.  Nobles  and  peasants  are  chosen  to  this 
body,  and  meet  in  it  on  a  footing  of  equality,  and  without  apparent 
antagonism;  the  nobles,  however,  being  the  more  conspicuous  on 
account  of  their  superior  education  and  experience.  The  Provincial 
Assembly  is  a  body  whose  members  are  chosen  by  the  several  dis- 
trict assemblies  of  the  province,  to  take  cognizance  of  those  matters 
which  concern  more  than  one  district. 

These  bodies  are  denied  all  political  functions,  so  much  so  that, 
according  to  Wallace,  the  Government,  very  soon  after  it  created 
them,  "  showed  that  it  would  not  allow  the  assemblies  to  exert  even 
a  moral  pressure  by  means  of  petitions  and  political  agitation.  As 
soon  as  the  Zemstvo  of  St.  Petersburg  gave  evidence  of  a  desire  to 
play  a  political  part,  the  assembly  was  at  once  closed  by  Imperial 


74  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

command,  and  several  of  the  leading  members  were  banished  for  a 
time  from  the  capital." 

The  Eussian  Church  is  a  branch  of  the  Oriental  Greek  Church, 
and  is  in  communion  with  the  four  Patriarchates  of  Constantinople, 
Antioch,  Jerusalem,  and  Alexandria.  Its  concerns  were  formerly 
regulated,  like  those  of  the  other  Eastern  Churches,  by  a  Patriarch, 
who  resided  at  Moscow.  The  Patriarchate  was  allowed  to  die  out  in 
the  reign  of  Peter  the  Great,  and  its  place  was  supplied  by  an 
ecclesiastical  council  or  synod,  whose  members  were  appointed  by 
the  Emperor.  This  body,  the  "Holy  Synod,"  is  the  nominal 
governing  body  of  the  Church.  It  is  a  permanent  college,  or 
senate,  of  prominent  dignitaries  of  the  Church,  who  are  nominated 
by  the  Czar,  and  are  removable  at  his  pleasure.  Its  acts  are  sub- 
ject to  the  revision  of  the  Czar,  and  take  effect,  when  they  are 
promulgated,  as  acts  of  the  Government,  rather  than  of  the  Church. 
The  Czar  appoints  to  every  office  in  the  Church,  leaving  to  the 
bishops  and  prelates  only  the  privilege  of  proposing  candidates. 
He  does  not,  however,  assume  to  decide  theological  or  dogmatic 
questions,  but  allows  the  synod  to  exercise  its  full  discretion  on 
such  points.  The  duty  of  deciding  and  passing  judgment  in  case 
of  new  heresies,  likewise  rests  with  the  synod,  but  the  judgment 
having  been  given,  the  Czar  must  command  its  execution  before  it 
can  be  carried  into  effect.  If  the  questions  at  issue  are  critical,  the 
opinions  of  the  four  patriarchs  are  sought,  and  in  extreme  cases  a 
council  may  be  called,  the  final  result  being,  however,  in  every  case 
dependent  on  the  Czar  to  give  it  force.  Each  province,  or  govern- 
ment, forms  a  diocese  administered  by  the  bishop,  assisted  by  a 
council,  which,  like  the  Holy  Synod,  has  no  independent  authority, 
but  simply  represents  the  bishop.  The  ecclesiastical  administration 
is  in  the  hands  of  the  "Black  Clergy,"  or  monks,  while  the  parish 
priests,  or  "White  Clergy,"  a  poor,  uneducated,  little  considered 
class,  do  most  of  the  hard  work,  but  do  not  share  in  the  higher 
honors  of  the  Church. 

The  Raskolnik,  Dissenters,  or  Nonconformists,  form  a  large  body. 
They  were  separated  from  the  Church  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  Believing  that  the  Church  was  departing 
from  the  primitive  faith  and  introducing  innovations  in  doctrine, 
the  first  Nonconformists  refused  to  follow  it,  and  assumed  an  atti- 
tude of  protest  against  the  innovations.  They  were  excommuni- 
cated and  subjected  to  persecutions,  which  continued  till  they  were 


CONDITION  OF  RUSSIA.  75 

relaxed  by  Catherine  the  Great,  since  whose  time  they  have  been 
tolerated.  They  have  been  divided  on  the  question  of  the  recog- 
nition of  the  Old  Church  as  a  true  Church,  into  "  Old  Ritualists " 
and  Bezpopoftsi,  or  "Priestless  people."  The  Old  Ritualists  accept 
their  episcopal  and  priestly  succession  from  the  Old  Church,  but  the 
"  Priestless  people,"  believing  that  that  Church  has  destroyed  itself 
by  its  departure  from  the  faith,  and  has  lost  all  authority,  refuse 
to  accept  the  sacraments  and  other  rites,  on  the  ground  that  there 
is  no  longer  any  priesthood.  They  have  been  split  into  a  great 
variety  of  sects. 

The  Old  Ritualists  are  not  really  very  far  removed  from  the 
orthodox  Church,  differing  only  in  a  few  particulars  of  doctrine, 
which  are  regarded,  now  that  the  heat  of  controversy  has  passed, 
as  of  minor  importance.  The  Government  has  adopted  a  policy  of 
conciliatory  measures  to  induce  them  to  return,  having  among  other 
things  offered  them  special  churches  in  which  they  could  indulge 
their  particular  preferences  of  ritual,  on  condition  of  accepting  the 
regularly  consecrated  priests,  and  submitting  to  ecclesiastical  juris- 
diction, but  has  not  met  with  much  success.  The  "  Priestless 
people"  were  treated  with  severity  until  the  accession  of  the 
present  Czar.  He  has  adopted  toward  them  a  milder  policy,  under 
the  influence  of  which  they  have  become  less  fanatical  and  exclusive, 
but  show  no  signs  of  returning  to  the  State  Church. 

There  are  also  in  Russia  numerous  sects  called  heretical.  Two  of 
them,  the  Molokans  and  the  Stundists,  seem  to  be  allied  in  faith  to 
some  of  the  evangelical  bodies  of  Protestantism,  the  Molokans  being 
likened  by  "Wallace  to  the  Presbyterians,  while  the  Stundists  are 
generally  spoken  of  as  the  Russian  representatives  of  the  Baptists. 
Besides  these  there  are  a  variety  of  sects,  professing  all  shades  of 
doctrine,  from  those  which  accept  the  Scriptures  as  the  basis  of  be- 
lief and  the  inspiration  of  their  leading  members  as  authentic  means 
of  interpreting  them,  to  those  which  regard  nervous  excitement  as  a 
manifestation  of  religion,  and  practice  rites  which  do  not  admit  of 
description.  Little  is  really  known  concerning  many  of  these  sects. 
The  accounts  of  them  which  have  reached  the  public  have  been  gen- 
erally furnished  by  strangers  or  persons  prejudiced  against  them, 
who  are  not  above  exaggerating  their  more  offensive  peculiarities. 
They  have  been  for  many  years  under  the  observation  of  the  police, 
and  the  Government  has  at  times  instituted  severe  measures  to  sup- 
press them. 


76  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

The  Old  Ritualists  and  Priestless  people  are  estimated  to  number 
about  seven  millions  of  adherents ;  and  the  Molokans,  Stundists,  and 
"  fantastical  sects  "  about  three  millions  more.  "  If  these  numbers 
be  correct,"  says  Wallace,  "  the  sectarians  constitute  about  an  eighth 
of  the  whole  population  of  the  Empire.  They  count  in  their  ranks 
none  of  the  nobles,  none  of  the  so-called  enlightened  class ;  but  they 
include  in  their  number  the  third  and  wealthiest  part  of  the  mer- 
chant class,  the  majority  of  the  Don  Cossacks,  and  all  of  the  Cos- 
sacks of  the  TJral !  "  According  to  the  official  statistics  of  the  Rus- 
sian Government,  the  aggregate  number  of  all  sectarians  is  only 
about  1,200,000,  an  estimate  which  nearly  all  foreign  writers  on  Rus- 
sia agree  in  considering  as  too  low.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church 
has  in  the  Russian  Empire  a  population  of  about  seven  and  a  half 
millions,  who  live  almost  exclusively  in  the  provinces  formerly  be- 
longing to  Poland,  and  belong  almost  wholly  to  the  Polish  and 
Lithuanian  nationalities.  There  were  formerly  in  these  provinces 
several  millions  of  Uniats,  or  members  of  the  Greek  Church,  who 
had  united  with  Rome,  but  had  been  permitted  to  retain  some  rites 
and  disciplinary  laws  of  the  Greek  Church.  These  Uniats  have  been 
induced  by  the  Russian  Government  to  rescind  their  connection 
with  Rome,  and  to  re-unite  with  the  Russian  Church.  The  last 
remnant,  the  diocese  of  Chelm,  in  the  kingdom  of  Poland,  took  this 
step  in  1876  and  1877.  Protestantism  is  the  dominant  religion  in 
Finland,  in  the  Baltic  provinces,  and  the  German  settlements  which 
are  scattered  through  the  south  of  Russia.  The  entire  population 
connected  with  it  is  about  2,600,000,  exclusive  of  the  Grand  Duchy 
of  Finland,  which  is  also  almost  wholly  Protestant.  The  Jews  are 
very  numerous,  especially  in  the  provinces  formerly  belonging  to 
Poland  ;  they  number  about  2,800,000.  The  number  of  Moham- 
medans has  been  greatly  increased  by  the  enlargement  of  the  Rus- 
sian rule  in  Central  Asia,  where  the  bulk  of  the  population  belongs 
to  the  Islam ;  their  total  number  in  Russia  now  exceeds  7,000,000. 
The  number  of  Pagans  has  been  reduced  to  about  500,000,  and  con- 
tinues to  decrease.  Excepting  the  case  of  the  Uniats  which  has  just 
been  referred  to,  the  Russian  Church  has  made  but  little  progress 
among  Catholics,  Protestants,  Jews,  and  Mohammedans,  but  an  in- 
creasing number  of  the  members  of  these  religions  are  entering  the 
service  of  the  National  Government,  an  indication  that'the  national 
unification  of  the  Empire  is  making  more  rapid  progress  than  the 
religious.  Russia  is  frequently  charged  with  being  extremely  intol- 


CONDITION  OF  RUSSIA. 


77 


erant  in  matters  of  religion.  It  is  said  that  the  State  Government 
regards  it  as  a  crime  to  apostatize  from  the  Greek  Church  to  any 
other,  and  that  any  one  who  has  once  joined  the  Greek  Church  is 
not  allowed  to  leave  it  again.  The  policy  of  the  Russian  Govern- 
ment with  regard  to  the  Baptists,  which  has  often  been  mentioned 
in  the  religious  journals  of  the  United  States,  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  Evangelical  Alliance,  and  caused  a  deputation  from  this  body 
to  be  sent  to  St.  Petersburg.  The  emigration  of  the  Mennonites  of 
Southern  Russia  to  the  United  States  was  occasioned  by  a  viola- 
tion of  their  conscientious  scruples  by  Russian  laws,  and  the  non- 
fulfillment of  the  pledges  of  the  Government  to  respect  them.  With 
regard  to  these  and  other  charges  of  intolerance,  it  must,  however, 
be  mentioned  that  some  of  them  are  declared  by  prominent  Russians 
to  be  absolutely  false,  and  that  most  of  the  Russian  writers,  includ- 
ing representative  men  of  the  Russian  Church,*  declare  in  favor  of 
the  principle  of  religious  toleration. 

The  Russian  armies  are  recruited  in  accordance  with  the  military 
law  of  1871,  by  an  annual  conscription,  to  which  all  able-bodied  men 
of  twenty-one  years  old  and  over  are  liable.  Substitutes  are  not 
allowed,  but  special  facilities  are  afforded  to  young  men  who  have 
gained  a  certain  degree  of  education,  to  become  officers  or  pass  over 
to  the  reserve.  The  period  of  service  is  fifteen  years,  six  of  which 
are  spent  in  the  active  army  and  six  in  the  reserve.  All  able-bodied 
men  are  liable  to  be  called  out  in  time  of  war  to  serve  in  the  militia. 
In  1877,  the  Russian  army  was  computed  to  number  28,645  officers, 
662,073  combatants,  and  97,380  non-coinbatants  on  a  peace  foot- 
ing, and  44,894  officers,  1,626,780  combatants,  and  169,080  non- 
combatants  on  a  war  footing.  Besides  its  regular  force,  the  Gov- 
ernment commands  a  large  supply  of  irregular  troops,  the  most  im- 
portant of  which  are  the  Cossacks,  who  own  their  land  in  common, 
and  are  exempt  from  taxes,  but  are  bound  to  perf orm  military  serv- 
ice, in  lieu  of  the  liability  to  taxation.  They  serve  fifteen  years  in 
the  active  army  and  seven  years  in  the  reserve.  The  total  en  umber 
of  irregular  troops  on  a  peace  footing  is  1,740  officers,  33,827  com- 
batants, and  1,512  non-combatants.  On  a  war  footing  there  are 
3,505  officers,  131,290  combatants,  and  5,698  non-combatants. 


*  A  defense  of  the  Russian  Church  against  the  charge  of  intolerance,  by  a  Russian 
•writer,  is  given  in  the  New  York  Churchman,  April  7,  1877.  This  writer,  in  particular, 
denies  that  real  punishment  has  ever  been  inflicted  upon  persons  who  left  the  State 
Church,  and  that  the  right  of  propagating  religious  doctrines  is  exclusively  possessed  by 
the  State  Church. 


78  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

The  administration  of  the  army  is  lodged  with  the  War  Minister, 
who  is  responsible  only  to  the  Czar.  Its  organization  is  complete, 
its  equipment  good,  and  its  discipline  efficient.  Military  institutes 
of  different  grades  are  provided  for  the  instruction  of  the  officers, 
as  preparatory,  middle,  and  higher  schools,  and  special  schools  for 
the  instruction  of  under-officers. 

The  military  affairs  of  Finland  are  administered  on  a  separate 
system  from  those  of  Russia.  The  province  is  expected  to  furnish 
a  certain  number  of  men  on  the  demand  of  the  Emperor  as  Grand 
Duke  of  Finland. 

The  Russian  navy  consisted  in  1876  of  the  Baltic  fleet,  77  vessels ; 
the  Black  Sea  -fleet,  nine  vessels ;  the  Caspian  Sea  fleet,  eleven 
serviceable  vessels;  the  Siberian  fleet,  eleven  vessels;  the  "White 
Sea  squadron,  three  vessels ;  and  the  Sea  of  Aral  flotilla,  twenty-six 
serviceable  vessels.  These  vessels  are  manned  by  about  1,490 
officers  and  11,600  seamen.  The  iron-clad  fleet  consisted  of  29  ves- 
sels, having  a  total  tonnage  of  74,793  tons,  carrying  184  guns.  The 
most  powerful  of  the  iron-clads  is  the  "  Peter  the  Great,"  a  mastless 
turret-ship  carrying  four  35-ton  Krupp  guns.  A  fleet  of  vessels  of 
a  new  kind,  called  Popoffkas,  or  circular  monitors,  is  in  process  of 
construction  after  designs  by  Admiral  Popoff.  They  are  intended 
for  defense,  as  floating  fortresses,  and  will  not  have  a  speed  of  more 
than  eight  or  nine  miles  an  hour.  The  sailors  of  the  navy  are  en- 
listed for  nine  years,  seven  of  which  must  be  spent  in  active  service 
and  two  in  the  reserve. 

The  finances  of  the  Empire  are  in  a  wretched  condition.  The 
aggressive  policy  of  Russia  involving  the  necessity  of  maintaining  a 
large  standing  army  and  navy,  has  proved  to  be  an  expensive  one. 
Most  of  the  railroads  have  been  constructed  by  the  Government 
through  regions  in  which  the  commercial  traffic  would  not  begin  to  pay 
for  the  expense,  and  the  system  has  required  the  borrowing  of  large 
sums  of  money.  Two-thirds  of  the  expenditure  of  the  Empire,  or 
about  tfye  whole  amount  of  the  revenue  from  direct  and  indirect 
taxation,  is  applied  to  the  army  and  navy,  and  the  payment  of  the 
interest  on  the  public  debt.  According  to  the  budget  estimates, 
the  amount  of  the  revenues  for  1876  was  £81,448,320;  and  of 
expenditures  £79,443,630,  showing  a  small  balance  on  the  credit 
side  of  the  account.  Between  1822  and  1876,  the  Government 
borrowed  upward  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  million  pounds 
sterling  to  meet  deficits  in  the  annual  accounts  and  provide  capi- 


CONDITION  OF  RUSSIA.  jg 

tal  for  the  construction  of  railroads;  and  the  estimated  amount 
of  the  public  debt  of  the  Empire  on  the  first  of  January,  1876,  was 
£250,962,000,  or  upward  of  twelve  hundred  million  dollars.  Be- 
sides this,  the  country  had  a  legal-tender  currency  of  £113,044,783, 
standing  at  from  ten  to  fifteen  per  cent,  discount.  A  sinking  fund 
has  been  formed,  and  the  financial  condition  has  been  improving  for 
several  years.  But  every  war  imposes  new  and  difficult  burdens 
upon  the  financial  bureau;  and  it  is  evident  that  Russia  could 
not  endure  a  great  long  war  without  suffering  a  critical  strain  on 
its  credit. 

A  few  of  the  provinces  and  peoples  of  Russia  have  been  brought 
into  especial  notice  in  connection  with  the  war,  and  deserve  a  more 
particular  account. 

The  Cossacks  have  received  more  attention  from  travelers  than 
any  other  class  of  Russians,  and  are  more  often  mentioned,  since 
they  make  themselves  more  conspicuous  in  the  campaign  and  in 
battle  than  any  other  Russian  soldiers.  The  name  Cossack  is  said 
to  be  Turkish  in  origin,  and  to  signify  robber.  However  true  the 
application  may  have  been  in  the  beginning,  the  Cossacks  are  now 
rather  brave,  daring  soldiers,  and  accomplished  and  effective  scouts 
than  robbers,  although  even  now  no  legitimate  booty  ever  comes 
amiss  to  them.  The  Cossacks  were  a  number  of  free  tribes  who 
inhabited  the  country  of  the  Ukraine  and  the  valleys  of  the 
Dnieper,  Don,  Yolga,  and  Ural  Rivers,  who  were  able  to  preserve 
a  measure  of  independence  during  the  period  when  Russia  and 
Poland  and  Turkey  were  contending  for  dominion  over  the  region, 
and  who,  when  they  submitted  to  the  Russians,  were  permitted  to 
preserve  most  of  their  customs  and  privileges,  on  condition  of  their 
serving  in  the  Russian  armies.  They  are  allied  to  the  Russians 
and  Tartars  in  origin,  and  are  most  probably  the  descendants  of 
refugees  who  fled  from  Russia  during  the  twelfth  and  succeeding 
centuries,  to  escape  the  oppression  of  the  landed  lords,  and  of  those 
who  were  afterward  driven  away  by  the  cruelties  of  Ivan  the 
Terrible  (1533  to  1584).  Communities  were  formed  of  the  fugi- 
tives, of  which  one  of  the  chief  bonds  of  connection  was  that  all 
the  members,  of  whatever  tribe  they  might  be,  should  profess  the 
orthodox  religion  and  speak  the  Russian  language.  In  the  latter 
part  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  Cossack  bands  on  the  Don  formed 
a  union  for  the  defense  of  the  Christians  against  the  Turks  and 
Tartars,  and  built  a  number  of  rallying  stations  or  winter  camps 


8o  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

along  the  Don,  which  are  now  represented  in  the  peculiar  Cossack 
villages  of  that  region.  Colonies  of  Cossacks  have  been  established 
by  the  Russian  Government  for  purposes  of  settlement  and  defense 
in  the  Ural,  and  parts  of  the  Caucasus,  and  in  Central  Asia,  where 
they  prove  useful  pioneers  of  civilization,  and  good  agents  for  the 
preservation  of  order  as  against  the  unruly  native  populations  and 
predatory  bands.  They  have  language  and  religion  in  common 
with  the  Russians,  but  are  quite  different  from  them  in  customs, 
manner  of  life,  and  character.  Though  professing  Christianity, 
they  are  not  at  all  particular  in  religious  matters.  The  Cossacks  of 
the  Upper  Don  pursue  agricultural  occupations;  their  houses  are 
surrounded  by  fruit  gardens,  and  their  women  take  delight  in  the 
cultivation  of  flowers.  The  whitewashed  houses  of  their  villages, 
just  visible  through  the  trees,  present  a  very  attractive  appearance. 
The  interior  of  the  houses  corresponds  with  the  outside,  and  is 
scrupulously  clean,  and  contains  comforts  and  conveniences  in  pro- 
portion to  the  wealth  of  the  owner.  The  Cossacks  of  the  Lower 
Don  live  by  fishing,  raising  horses,  mining  for  salt,  metals,  and 
coal,  and  vine-culture.  They  are  gayer  and  more  extravagant  than 
their  northern  countrymen,  and  are  fond  of  display.  As  a  whole, 
the  Cossacks  are  free,  roving  in  disposition,  fond  of  wild  adventure, 
are  quick  in  movement,  and  fight  with  great  vigor,  but  without 
much  regularity  or  system.  As  soldiers,  they  form  to  the  Russian 
service  some  such  an  arm  as  the  Bashi-Bazouks  form  to  the  Turkish 
service,  but  a  comparison  with  the  Bashi-Bazouks  is  unjust  to  them ; 
they  are  better  disciplined  than  the  Bashi-Bazouks,  have  principle, 
and  are  not  naturally  cruel.  When  not  in  fight  they  are  genial  and 
pleasant  companions,  and  are  well  spoken  of  by  travelers  who  have 
had  intercourse  with  them.  Mr.  Bryce,  an  English  traveler  who 
recently  ascended  Mount  Ararat,  and  who  was  accompanied  by 
Cossacks  during  his  whole  journey,  describes  them  as  "merry, 
simple,  good-natured  fellows.''  His  verdict  is  sustained  by  the 
majority  of  the  travelers  who  have  had  intercourse  with  them  away 
from  the  battle-field.  In  home  life  they  are  jovial,  and  exceedingly 
fond  of  their  families,  and  will  play  with  their  children  for  hours 
with  an  enjoyment  equal  to  that  of  the  children.  The  uniform  of 
the  Cossack  soldier  is  very  picturesque.  The  upper  garment  con- 
sists of  the  Circassian  tunic,  or  chekmen,  fastened  down  the  breast 
with  frogs,  with  cartridge-cases  on  the  right  and  left.  Beneath  this 
is  the  bechmet,  a  kind  of  long  waistcoat,  reaching  down  below  the 


COSSACKS. 


RUSSIAN    SOLDIERS. 


CONDITION  OF  RUSSIA.  83 

tunic,  and  which  is  of  silk  when  the  Cossack  is  in  full  dress.  The 
head-dress  is  the  papakka,  a  cap  made  of  sheepskin.  The  several 
regiments  are  distinguished  from  one  another  by  the  color  of  the 
ftechmet  and  shoulder-straps,  the  top  of  the  papakka  and  the  colors 
of  the  cartridge-cases  being  also  of  the  same  hue.  To  protect  him 
from  the  rain  the  Cossack  carries  a  large  mantle,  called  a  ~bourka, 
made  of  a  peculiar  kind  of  cloth  manufactured  in  the  mountains, 
which  is  said  to  be  light,  warm,  impervious  to  moisture,  and  ever- 
lasting in  wear.  By  night  this  ~bourka^  which  possesses  also  the 
invaluable  property  of  driving  away  all  insects  and  vermin,  serves 
as  a  bed,  and  when  not  in  use  is  rolled  up  and  strapped  on  behind 
the  saddle.  The  ~bocldik,  a  cap  made  of  the  same  kind  of  cloth,  is 
the  complement  of  the  bourka,  and  is  provided  with  two  long  tails, 
which  when  it  rains  the  Cossack  twists  round  his  neck.  In  bivouac 
also  the  J>ocJdik  is  worn  as  a  night-cap.  The  arms  carried  by  the 
Cossacks  are  the  schacJika,  or  long  mountain  sword,  with  no  guard 
to  the  hilt ;  the  kmdial,  or  short  dagger,  two  pistols  stuck  into  a 
waist-belt,  and  a  Berdan  rifle  without  a  bayonet.  The  horse  furni- 
ture consists  of  a  light  saddle,  somewhat  resembling  in  appearance 
the  Arabian  pattern,  but  without  the  high  wooden  cant  peculiar  to 
this  latter.  The  framework  is  covered  with  a  skin  of  soft  and  ex- 
ceedingly supple  leather ;  the  two  girths  are  broad  but  thin  leather 
bands,  each  about  nine  inches  in  width,  and  are  attached  to  the 
saddle  at  a  considerable  interval  apart.  A  thick  woolen  rug  is 
placed  below  the  saddle,  while,  finally,  a  leather  cushion,  stuffed 
with  horse-hair,  secured  on  the  top  of  the  saddle  by  a  third  girth 
similar  to  the  two  already  described,  forms  the  seat  for  the  rider. 
The  bridle  has  only  a  single  rein,  the  horse  moving  generally  with 
his  head  down  and  his  neck  stretched  straight  out.  The  horses 
themselves  are  small,  usually  about  fourteen  hands  in  height,  but 
they  are  well-proportioned,  robust,  and  able  to  get  through  much 
hard  work  without  knocking  up. 

The  province  called  Bessarabia  includes  the  country  lying  between 
the  Pruth  and  Dniester  Rivers.  It  is  named  after  a  tribe  called  the 
Bessers,  who  invaded  it  in  the  seventh  century.  It  formerly  be- 
longed to  Moldavia,  but  was  given  to  Russia  in  1812.  So  much  of 
the  territory  as  included  the  mouths  of  the  Danube  was  given  back 
to  Turkey  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  in  1856,  the  powers  insisting  that 
Russia  should  surrender  the  control  of  every  part  of  that  important 
stream.  Three-quarters  of  the  population  are  Moldavians,  or 
5 


84  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Rumanians,  and  are  naturally  inclined  to  favor  incorporation  with 
Rumania  whenever  it  is  made  an  independent  State.  On  the  other 
hand,  Russia  has  never  been  satisfied  with  its  surrender  of  the  south- 
western section,  and  claims  the  right  to  restore  it  to  the  territory  of 
the  Empire. 

The  name  of  the  Caucasus  is  given  to  the  whole  region  between 
the  Black  and  Caspian  Seas,  which  is  occupied  by  the  Caucasus 
Mountains  and  their  outlying  spurs.  The  Caucasus  range  of  mount- 
ains begins  on  the  north  shore  of  the  Black  Sea,  and  stretches  in  a 
south-westerly  direction  for  about  seven  hundred  miles.  It  is  divided, 
according  to  Mr.  Douglas  Freshfield,  who  has  carefully  examined  its 
geography,  near  Tiflis  into  two  branches,  so  as  to  give  the  whole 
range  the  shape  of  the  letter  Y,  the  two  arms  of  which  stretch  from 
the  point  of  division  to  the  Caspian  Sea.  The  southern  branch  is 
the  longest  and  highest;  but  the  northern  branch  has  also  some 
very  high  peaks,  and  marks  the  boundary  line  between  the  two 
divisions  of  the  province,  Ciscaucasia  and  Transcaucasia.  It  is  a 
region  of  very  ancient  historical,  and  more  ancient  mythological, 
interest.  The  Prometheus  of  the  old  Greek  fables  was  chained  to 
a  rock  on  one  of  its  mountains ;  Medea,  whose  fate  in  connection 
with  the  expedition  of  Jason  for  the  golden  fleece  has  been  com- 
memorated in  classical  tragedy,  had  her  home  within  its  bounds. 
It  figures  also  as  a  land  of  enchantment  in  the  stories  of  the  "Ara- 
bian Nights  "  and  other  legends  of  the  Saracens.  Its  tribes,  men  of 
great  vigor,  having  an  indomitable  spirit,  maintained  their  inde- 
pendence against  all  attempts  to  conquer  them  till  the  present  cen- 
tury, when  Russia,  having  obtained  a  foothold  in  Georgia,  in  the 
year  1800,  gradually  extended  its  control  until  the  whole  region  was 
subjugated  on  the  surrender  of  Shamyl  in  1859.  The  spirit  of  the 
inhabitants  was  not  subdued,  however,  and  after  1863  nearly  half  a 
million  of  them,  refusing  to  submit  to  Russian  rule,  left  the  country 
and  settled  upon  homesteads  which  were  offered  to  them  by  their 
co-religionists  in  Turkey.  Again  in  the  war  of  1877,  the  independ- 
ent spirit  of  the  Mohammedan  tribes,  supported  by  such  helps  and 
encouragement  as  the  Turks  found  opportunity  to  afford  them,  kept 
the  country  in  so  restless  a  condition  that,  although  no  formidable 
insurrection  was  actually  developed,  considerable  forces  had  to  be 
detailed  from  the  Russian  armies  to  keep  order,  and  the  movements 
of  the  invading  columns  were  embarrassed  by  the  apprehension  of 
danger  in  the  rear.  The  Caucasian  district  is  inhabited  by  several 


CONDITION  OF  RUSSIA.  85 

tribes,  Mohammedan,  Christian,  and  Pagan,  of  whom  the  Moham- 
medans have  been  so  reduced  by  emigration  and  other  causes,  as  to 
number  now  only  about  one-third  of  the  whole.  The  majority  of 
the  population  have  learned  to  be  contented  under  Russian  rule, 
and  are  loyal  to  the  Government.  Even  the  Mohammedans,  until 
excited  by  the  events  of  the  war  and  the  appeals  of  the  Turks,  had 
not  for  many  years  shown  any  spirit  of  resistance.  Ciscaucasia,  or 
the  country  lying  on  the  northern  side  of  the  Caucasus,  is  inhabited 
by  the  Tchetchentzes,  Ossetes,  and  Tcherkess,  or  Circassians.  The 
Tchetchentzes,  a  Mohammedan  tribe,  numbering  about  150,000 
persons,  dwell  in  the  Terek  Valley,  and  between  the  Caspian  and 
Yladikavkar,  and  are  considered  the  tribe  the  least  to  be  relied 
upon.  They  were  the  last  of  the  Caucasians  to  submit  to  the  Rus- 
sians, having  adhered  to  Shamyl  during  the  war  of  final  conquest 
till  he  was  compelled  to  surrender.  Their  tribes  are  not  connected 
by  any  bond  of  union,  and  they  are  given  by  travelers  a  bad  char- 
acter, being  described  as  untrustworthy  and  mischievous,  though 
daring,  given  to  irregular  and  guerrilla  warfare,  and  incapable  of 
maintaining  a  steady  campaign.  The  Ossetes,  who  dwell  west  of  the 
Tchetchentzes,  and  inhabit  the  country  around  the  Pass  of  Yladi- 
kavkar, are  a  tribe  of  65,000  persons,  of  whom  50,000  are  nominally 
Christians,  of  a  quite  opposite  character  from  their  neighbors.  They 
are  regarded  by  many  ethnologists  as  belonging  to  the  Indo-Ger- 
manic  race,  and  have  maintained  peaceful  relations  with  the  Rus- 
sians for  more  than  a  century.  West  of  the  Ossetes  are  the  Tcher- 
kess, or  Circassians,  who  are  divided  into  three  branches,  the  Kabas- 
dans,  the  Tcherkess  proper,  or  Adighei,  and  the  Adhaz,  or  Abkha- 
sians.  The  Kabardans  are  Mohammedans,  and  were  formerly  the 
most  influential  of  the  Circassian  tribes,  and  were  the  first  to  accept 
Russian  rule.  They,  as  well  as  their  neighbors  the  Ossetes,  took  no 
part  in  the  war  led  by  Shamyl,  but  have  been  constantly  loyal  to 
Russia.  The  Karatchai,  who  live  near  the  sources  of  the  Kuban, 
took  the  Russian  side  in  the  last  revolt,  and  are  regarded  as  peace- 
able. The  Adighei,  or  Tcherkess,  as  the  Russians  call  them,  or  Cir- 
cassians proper,  have  been  most  hostile  to  the  Russians,  but  the  ma- 
jority of  the  race  have  emigrated  to  Turkey,  and  are  represented  in 
its  army  with  an  unenviable  notoriety  by  the  Tcherkess  bands,  whose 
name  has  become  associated  with  all  that  is  disorderly  and  barbarous 
in  military  life.  West  of  the  Adighei,  and  on  the  southern  slopes  of 
the  mountains,  and  around  the  Black  Sea  coasts,  live,  the  Svanetians, 


86  ,  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

a  small,  disaffected  tribe,  and  the  Abkhasians,  a  much  larger  tribe, 
who  gained  considerable  importance  in  the  summer  campaign  of 
18Y7.  The  Abkhasians  possess  a  separate  history,  dating  back  sev- 
eral centuries,  and  speak  a  different  language  from  the  other  tribes, 
are  brave,  and  somewhat  unruly.  They  formerly  professed  Chris- 
tianity, which  was  introduced  among  them  in  the  sixth  century,  and 
were  attached  to  the  Greek  Church,  but  many  of  the  leading  fami- 
lies afterward  embraced  Mohammedanism.  The  multitude  have 
practically  lapsed  into  heathenism,  so  that  little  remains  of  the  old 
Christianity  except  a  few  superstitious  rites  and  some  ruins  of 
churches.  In  1863  and  1864:,  after  the  great  Circassian  emigration, 
the  Russians  proposed  to  them  that  they  should  again  embrace  the 
Christian  faith,  as  a  condition  of  their  remaining  on  their  lands. 
Thousands  of  them  took  advantage  of  the  offer  and  were  baptized 
in  crowds,  "  with  a  kind  of  switch  dipped  into  a  tub  of  water,  by  a 
priest  on  the  balcony  of  a  house,  while  the  procession  passed  below." 
This  conversion  was  without  sincerity,  and  had  little  effect  in  attach- 
ing the  people  to  Russia. 

The  contentment  of  the  upper  classes  with  Russian  rule  was 
severely  tested  several  years  ago,  by  the  abolition  of  the  privileges 
of  the  Caucasian  nobility,  which  was  particularly  hard  on  the  Abkhasi- 
ans. Formerly  a  complete  system  of  vassalage  existed.  The  land 
was  allotted  among  a  very  large  number  of  princes  and  nobles,  each 
of  whom  possessed  twenty  or  thirty  houses,  with  numbers  of  depend- 
ents, over  whom  he  exercised  absolute  sway.  This  system  was 
abolished  about  1871,  when  the  nobles  were  deprived  of  all  rights 
over  the  people,  and  their  lands  were  divided,  without  any  compen- 
sation being  given  to  them,  among  .the  peasants  to  cultivate.  Not- 
withstanding, this  measure  was  a  real  reform  akin  to  the  abolition 
of  serfage  in  Russia,  and  a  benefit  to  the  country.  Many  of  the  de- 
prived nobles  were  indignant  at  the  loss  they  had  suffered,  and  were 
made  ready  for  revolt.  Upon  a  superficial  view,  the  district  should 
have  afforded  an  excellent  field  upon  which  to  direct  the  efforts  to 
excite  an  insurrection,  which  the  Turks  attempted.  Transcaucasia, 
or  that  part  of  the  Caucasus  which  lies  south  of  the  mountains,  is 
described  by  Mr.  Bryce,  in  his  "  Transcaucasia  and  Ararat,"  as  being 
on  the  whole  "  a  fairly  contented  and  peaceable  part  of  the  Czar's 
dominions,"  in  which  "  there  does  not  exist  nearly  so  much  bitter- 
ness of  feeling  among  the  subjects  as  there  is  toward  ourselves  [the 


CONDITION  OF  RUSSIA.  g/ 

British]  in  India."  The  important  province  of  Daghestan  lies  in  the 
fork  of  the  mountain  range.  The  Lesghians,  as  the  inhabitants  are 
called,  are  a  steady,  industrious  people,  engaged  in  the  culture  of  the 
soil,  and  the  manufacture  of  iron  and  weapons,  are  partly  Mohamme- 
dan and  partly  Christian,  and  have  some  literary  culture.  They  opposed 
the  Russian  encroachments  steadily,  and  with  regular  warfare,  but 
having  been  overcome,  submitted  manfully,  and  have  given  them- 
selves to  peaceful  pursuits.  Shamyl,  the  great  Caucasian  leader  in 
the  last  war  with  Russia,  whose  history  is  as  full  of  romance  as  that 
of  any  hero  whose  exploits  have  been  recorded  in  story,  was  a  native 
of  this  province.  The  southern  part  of  the  district  was  formerly  in- 
cluded in  the  kingdom  of  Georgia,  which  has  been  named  Grusia 
since  its  annexation  to  Russia.  The  people  are  mostly  Christians, 
are  loyal  to  the  Russian  Government,  and  are  of  the  higher  class  of 
Eastern  populations.  At  Baku,  on  the  Caspian  Sea,  in  the  midst  of 
a  region  abounding  in  naphtha  wells,  are  situated  a  seat  of  the  fire- 
worshipers,  and  temples  in  which  the  holy  fires  are  kept  perpetually 
burning. 

The  Caucasians  have  a  traditional  celebrity  for  physical  beauty, 
and  their  women  have  been  sought  out  for  centuries  by  wealthy 
Mussulmans  to  be  made  favorite  wives  and  the  chief  attractions  of 
their  harems.  The  people  of  many  of  their  tribes  undoubtedly 
present  a  very  fine  bodily  aspect.  The  Tcherkess,  with  all  their 
moral  deficiencies,  are  a  very  handsome  people,  with  fine  forms, 
small  hands  and  feet,  broad  shoulders,  aquiline  noses,  bright  eyes, 
pure  black  beards,  elastic  gait,  proud  bearing,  and  picturesque  dress. 
The  weapons  of  the  richer  braves  are  highly  ornamented  with  gold 
and  silver  and  precious  stones.  The  women  wear  a  clear  blue  silken 
shirt,  embroidered  with  gold  and  silver,  and  gathered  at  the  waist 
with  a  costly  belt,  veil  themselves  in  a  white  veil  covering  them  from 
head  to  foot,  and  practice  tight-lacing  from  childhood.  The  custom 
of  "  blood  revenge "  is  characteristic  of  the  people.  The  feud  is 
transmitted  from  generation  to  generation,  and  is  permanently  ter- 
minated only  by  stealing  a  child  of  the  hostile  family,  taking  care  of 
him  until  he  has  grown  up,  and  then  restoring  him  to  his  father,, 
when  the  bitterest  enmity  is  changed  into  the  warmest  friendship.. 
This  custom  is  mitigated  by  the  power  of  Circassian  hospitality,, 
which  permits  one  to  be  entertained  even  by  his  fiercest  enemy,  and 
to  be  quite  secure  so  long  as  he  is  his  guest.  The  boys  are  taught, 


88  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

war-like  exercises  and  dexterity,  and  are  instructed  in  theft,  with  the 
full  knowledge  that  they  will  be  punished  if  they  are  caught  stealing. 
Georgia  and  Russian  Armenia,  which  form  the  extreme  southern 
part  of  the  Transcaucasian  Province,  contain  about  280,000  Armeni- 
ans. They  are  separated,  only  by  an  arbitrary  territorial  line,  from 
the  Armenians  of  Turkey,  with  whom  they  have  common  manners 
and  characteristics,  and  the  same  religion. 


CIRCASSIANS. 


CHAPTEK  IY. 
i 

HI8TOEICAL   SKETCH   OF   TURKEY. 

Origin  of  the  Turks— The  Seljukian  Empire— Rise  of  the  Ottoman  Turks— Conquest  of 
Constantinople — Growth  of  the  Turkish  Empire  in  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa— Turkish 
Policy  with  regard  to  Conquered  Nations — Climax  of  the  Ottoman  Power  under 
Solyman — Spell  of  Turkish  Bravery  Broken — Struggle  of  the  Subjected  Races  for 
Independence — The  Sick  Man. 

THE  Turks  came  from  those  regions  of  Central  Asia  that  have  fur- 
nished the  majority  of  the  stocks  which  have  successively  occupied 
different  parts  of  Europe  and  Western  Asia,  from  the  Aryan  in- 
vasion down  to  the  present  time.  They  emigrated  to  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  Aral  and  Caspian  Seas  early  in  the  Christian  era,  and 
were  first  mentioned  in  connection  with  western  history  in  the  sixth 
century,  as  forming  an  alliance  with  the  Roman  Emperor  Justin 
II.  They  came  under  Mohammedan  influence  during  the  tenth  cen- 
tury. In  the  eleventh  century  they  advanced  into  Persia,  subjugated 
the  best  districts  of  that  country,  and  from  there  spread  over  Syria 
and  the  greater  part  of  Asia  Minor.  Their  principal  chief,  who  be- 
came paramount,  was  Seljuk,  from  whom  they  received  the  name  of 
Seljukian  Turks.  The  Seljukian  Empire  attained  its  greatest  extent 
and  prosperity  under  Melek,  the  grandson  of  Seljuk,  when  it  in- 
cluded, besides  the  districts  already  named,  Armenia,  Georgia,  and 
Lower  Egypt.  After  Melek's  death  it  was  divided  up  into  smaller 
States,  which  became  rivals,  were  encroached  upon  by  the  Ottoman 
Turks,  and  were  finally  extinguished  in  the  thirteenth  century  by  the 
irruption  of  the  Moguls,  under  Genghis  Khan.  About  the  begin- 
ning of  the  thirteenth  century,  a  band  of  Oghuze  Turks  emigrated 
from  the  main  body  in  Khorasan,  Persia,  to  the  mountains  of  Ar- 
menia, whence  a  part  of  it  removed  and  settled  near  Angora,  still 
acknowledging  the  suzerainty  of  one  of  the  Seljukian  Sultans.  A 
Sultan  of  this  part  of  the  band,  Othman,  or  Osman,  having  made 
considerable  conquests  from  the  Greek  Empire,  established  his  inde- 
pendence in  1299,  and  founded  the  State  which  has  since  been  known 
as  the  Turkish,  or  Ottoman  Empire.  The  present  dominant  race  of 
Turks  are  called  Ottomans  after  him.  Under  Orchan,  the  successor 

(91) 


92  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

of  Othman,  all  of  Western  Asia  was  occupied,  and  Gallipoli,  the 
first  of  the  acquisitions  of  the  Turks  in  Europe,  fell  into  their  hands 
in  1357.  From  this  point  the  Ottomans  gradually  advanced  in  Eu- 
rope, slowly  at  first,  more  rapidly  as  they  gained  strength.  They 
took  Adrianople,  the  most  important  European  position  of  the  Greek 
Empire,  in  1361,  Philippopolis  shortly  afterward,  defeated  the  Ser- 
vians and  Hungarians  in  1365,  then  conquered  several  towns  on  the 
Thracian  coast,  and  Nissa,  a  point  which  plays  an  important  part 
in  the  wars  of  the  present,  made  Servia  and  Bulgaria  tributary  to 
them  in  1375,  and  Wallachia  in  1391,  exacted  a  tribute  from  the 
Roman  Emperor  himself,  and  captured  the  most  important  fortresses 
on  the  Danube  in  1394.  Their  most  formidable  antagonists  during 
this  period  were  the  Hungarians,  with  whom  they  fought  many 
bloody  battles.  This  brave  people  have,  for  several  centuries,  borne 
the  credit  of  having  at  this  time  saved  Western  Europe  from  being 
overrun,  like  the  East.  Murad  II.,  from  1421  to  1451,  reduced  Sa- 
lonica  and  important  positions  in  Greece.  Finally,  Mohammed  II., 
the  successor  of  Murad,  captured  Constantinople  after  a  short  siege, 
on  the  29th  of  May,  1453,  the  Emperor  Constantine  being  slain 
in  the  final  assault,  and  the  Ottomans  gained  the  seat  and  throne 
of  the  Roman  Empire. 

Had  Europe  been  united  to  resist  the  advance  of  the  Turks,  this 
great  disaster  might  have  been  avoided,  and  the  invaders  have  been 
driven  back  into  Asia.  But  the  princes  and  rulers  of  the  petty 
States  outside  the  line  of  immediate  danger  were  too  busy  with 
their  own  little  jealousies  to  give  proper  attention  to  a  peril  which 
menaced  the  whole;  so  the  Ottomans  were  allowed  to  establish 
themselves  almost  without  molestation.  All  Europe  was  thrown 
into  a  panic  by  the  conquest  of  Constantinople.  Terror  ruled  every- 
where ;  but  nearly  every  State  seemed  to  be  in  a  quarrel  either  be- 
tween its  own  factions  or  with  some  of  its  neighbors,  and  the  Turks 
were  allowed  to  complete  the  conquests  they  had  made,  and  to  add 
the  rest  of  Greece,  Bosnia,  Albania,  Herzegovina,  and  the  States  in 
Asia  which  were  not  already  in  their  own  possession.  The  States 
further  west,  so  far  from  helping  their  fellow-Christians  against  the 
invader  or  sympathizing  with  them,  were  willing  to  form  alliances 
with  the  Turks  if  that  would  help  them  to  gain  an  advantage  over 
a  rival.  The  Ottoman  Empire  reached  its  greatest  extent  under 
Solyman,the  Magnificent,  and  Selim  II.,  his  successor,  when  it  ex- 
tended on  the  east  to  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates,  included  Egypt  and 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  TURKEY. 


93 


the  Barbarj  States,  Arabia,  Rhodes,  and  Cyprus,  and  took  in  a  lartoe 
part  of  Hungary  on  the  west.  A  series  of  wars  for  the  conquest 
of  Hungary  was  begun  during  the  reign  of  Solyman,  in  1521.  The 
young  King  of  Hungary  was  killed  on  the  battle-field  of  Mohacs 
in  1526,  and  immediately  three  aspirants  for  the  crown  began  their 
rivalries  for  the  succession  instead  of  resisting  the  invader,  so  that 
the  Turks  had  every  advantage  on  their  side.  In  1529,  Buda,  the 
principal  Hungarian  fortress,  was  occupied,  and  the  Turks  ap- 
proached Yienna  without  resistance,  and  were  prevented  from  cap- 
turing it  only  by  disorders  within  their  own  ranks.  A  peace  was 
concluded  in  1533,  by  which  Ferdinand  of  Austria,  as  King  of 
Hungary,  was  obliged  to  pay  tribute  for  that  State.  He  refusing  to 
continue  the  tribute,  the  war  broke  out  again  in  1541,  and  Ferdi- 
nand was  compelled  after  six  years  of  war  to  purchase  peace  by  the 
surrender  of  the  Hungarian  territory  as  far  as  Stuhlweissenburg, 
Buda,  and  Gran,  and  the  payment  of  an  annual  gift  of  fifty  thou- 
sand ducats  for  the  rest  of  the  kingdom.  Solyman  renewed  the 
war  with  Austria  in  1551 ;  the  country  was  again  invaded,  and  the 
Turks  made  incursions  into  Carinthia  and  Styria.  Ferdinand  again 
bought  a  truce  in  1562,  by  which  the  Turks  were  left  in  possession 
of  their  conquests,  and  he  gave  up  his  claims  over  Transylvania, 
and  submitted  to  the  payment  of  a  yearly  tribute  of  thirty  thousand 
ducats.  Solyman  made  war  again  upon  Maximilian,  the  successor 
of  Ferdinand,  and  again  carried  all  his  points  in  the  truce  of  1567". 

These  wars  occurred  during  the  wars  of  the  sixteenth  century 
between  France  and  Germany.  The  French  king,  desiring  to  see 
the  Hapsburgs  crippled,  threw  their  influence  on  the  side  of  the 
Turks,  and  even  entered  into  alliances  with  them ;  and  when  the 
Emperor  Charles  Y.,  as  King  of  Spain,  endeavored  to  subjugate 
Algiers  and  Tunis,  the  French  lent  a  part  of  their  fleet  to  assist  the 
Turks.  In  return,  the  French  were  granted  commercial  privileges 
in  Turkish  waters  which  were  denied  to  other  nations,  and  gained  a 
small  degree  of  influence  at  the  Ottoman  court.  War  broke  out 
between  Turkey  and  Yenice  in  1570,  the  end  of  which  was  the 
surrender  of  the  island  of  Cyprus  to  the  Turks,  and  the  payment 
of  an  indemnity  by  the  Yenetians.  In  this  war,  France  was  again 
friendly  to  the  Turks. 

Circumstances  brought  Turkey  and  Poland  into  close  relations 
during  a  part  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Poland  leaned  on  Turkey 
for  protection  against  the  growing  power  of  Russia.  Turkey  was 


94  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

glad  to  detach  all  the  neighboring  States  it  could  from  alliances  with 
Austria.  The  result  was  that  the  Porte  for  a  time  exerted  an  in- 
fluence in  Polish  affairs  extending  even  to  the  nomination  of  the 
king.  The  alliance  was  gradually  broken  up  by  the  operation  of 
other  natural  causes,  and  in  the  following  century  it  was  the  King 
of  Poland  who  saved  the  West  a  second  time  from  being  overrun 
by  the  Moslems.  Another  war  between  Turkey  and  Austria,  be- 
ginning in  1593,  in  which  the  Turks  advanced  to  Komorn,  the  ex- 
treme limit  of  their  previous  advances,  ended  in  1606  with  the 
Treaty  of  Sitnatorok,  in  which  Austria  bought  a  release  from  the 
tribute  it  had  paid  for  Hungary,  and  the  frontier  districts  were  more 
clearly  defined.  In  a  war  with  Venice,  which  began  in  1645,  the 
Turks  gained  the  city  and  castle  of  Candia  after  their  fleet  had  been 
vanquished  twice.  A  war  with  Austria  which  followed,  ended  in 
the  peace  of  Yasvar,  or  St.  Gotthard,  renewing  the  peace  of  Sit- 
natorok. Poland  was  next  engaged  in  war  with  the  Turks,  and  the 
king,  Michael  Caribert,  concluded  a  disgraceful  peace  after  a  single 
defeat.  His  successor,  John  Sobieski,  refusing  to  be  bound  by  the 
terms  Michael  had  granted,  renewed  the  war  and  gained  better  ones. 
This  king  did  signal  service  to  the  West  a  few  years  afterward, 
when  the  Turks,  again  at  war  with  Austria,  having  marched  up  to 
the  walls  of  Vienna,  and  being  about  to  capture  that  capital,  he 
came  to  its  relief,  defeated  the  invaders,  conclusively,  and  saved  the 
city  and  Austria,  September  12,  1683.  In  the  next  year,  Austria, 
Poland,  and  Yenice  concluded  a  "  holy  alliance  "  against  the  Porte, 
and  attacked  its  possessions  in  Hungary,  Dalmatia,  and  the  Morea, 
and  on  the  Dniester  defeated  the  Turks  in  several  great  battles, 
took  some  of  their  most  important  border  forts,  and  after  a  war  of 
about  sixteen  years'  duration,  concluded  in  1699  the  peace  of  Carlo- 
vitz,  the  most  creditable  treaty  which  any  Christian  power  had  yet 
made  with  Turkey.  It  was  the  first  treaty  in  which  the  payment 
of  a  tribute  in  some  form  to  the  Porte  was  not  stipulated  for,  and 
was  also  the  first  in  which  neutral  Christian  powers  acted  as  media- 
tors, England  and  Holland  having  given  their  services  in  that 
capacity  to  promote  the  conclusion  of  an  honorable  peace. 

Russia  began  to  be  prominent  in  the  wars  against  Turkey  early 
in  the  eighteenth  century.  Previous  to  this  time  some  border  wars 
had  occurred  between  the  two  powers,  which  grew  out  of  the  depre- 
dations of  the  Tartars  and  Cossacks,  but  they  were  insignificant  in 
comparison  with  the  wars  with  Austria,  Poland,  and  Yenice.  The 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  TURKEY.  nc 

war  beginning  in  1710,  in  which  the  Czar  twice  bought  his  security 
against  yielding  a  disgraceful  peace  by  bribing  the  Grand  Vizier,  is 
noteworthy  as  having  led  indirectly  to  the  wars  with  Yen  ice  and 
Austria  (1714  to  1718),  in  which  the  Austrian  Prince  Eugene  gained 
the  brilliant  victory  of  Peterwardein  (1716),  and  in  consequence  of 
which  a  new  adjustment  of  boundaries  was  made  at  the  Treaty  of 
Passarovitz,  to  the  disadvantage  of  Turkey.  A  war  with  Russia 
and  Austria  (1736  to  1739)  resulted,  after  the  peace  of  Belgrade,  in 
gains  of  territory  for  Russia,  and  losses  for  Austria. 

In  1768,  the  Turks  interfered  in  behalf  of  the  Catholic  party  of 
Poland,  to  check  the  growth  of  Russian  influence  in  that  kingdom. 
The  war  which  ensued  was  a  disastrous  one  for  them,  and  ended  in 
their  losing  the  Crimea,  and  yielding  to  Russia  Kertch,  Jenikala, 
and  Azov,  the  free  navigation  of  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Sea  of  Mar- 
mora, and  other  important  commercial  privileges,  and  paying  an  in- 
demnity. The  Crimea  was  finally  occupied  by  the  Russians  in 
1783.  The  Turks  nearly  lost  Constantinople  in  this  war,  and  it  was 
saved  to  them  only  by  the  interference  of  England  and  Prussia. 

This  occasion  marks  the  introduction  of  the  policy  of  making  the 
affairs  of  Turkey  a  subject  of  European  concern,  and  also  the  origin 
of  the  British  doctrine  that  the  integrity  of  Turkey  must  be  main- 
tained. During  a  part  of  the  period  of  the  French  Revolution,  the 
attitude  of  parties  was  curiously  reversed,  and  the  Porte  was  engaged 
in  a  defensive  alliance  with  Russia  and  England  against  the  aggres- 
sions of  the  French  in  the  East.  The  alliance  ceased  in  1802  upon 
the  conclusion  of  the  peace  of  Amiens  between  France,  Turkey,  and 
England. 

Turkey  and  Russia  were  again  engaged  in  war  in  1806.  At  first 
the  Turks  were  supported  by  the  French,  and  Russia  by  England. 
Both  these  alliances  were  broken  up  before  the  end  of  the  war.  The 
Emperor  Napoleon  of  France  engaged  in  secret  plots  with  the  Czar 
Alexander,  for  the  dismemberment  and  division  of  Turkey,  and  En- 
gland concluded  the  peace  of  Dardanelles  with  the  Porte.  The  peace 
of  Bucharest,  concluded  in  May,  1812,  made  the  river  Pruth  the 
boundary  between  Russia  and  Turkey,  established  the  freedom  of 
the  Lower  Danube  to  the  trade  of  both  countries,  and  assured  to  Ser- 
via  the  position  as  a  semi-independent  tributary  State,  for  which  it 
had  been  striving  since  1804. 

The  revolution  in  Greece  began  in  1821.  The  campaigns  of  the 
Turks  were  accompanied  with  barbarities,  which,  like  those  perpe- 
trated nearly  fifty  years  later  in  Bulgaria,  excited  general  abhorrence, 


96  .       THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

while  the  bravery  of  the  Greeks  aroused  for  them  the  sympathy  of 
the  Western  peoples.  The  powers  tried  to  put  an  end  to  the  war  by 
negotiation,  without  taking  an  active  part  in  it.  Their  overtures 
were  rejected  by  the  Porte,  and  England,  France,  and  Russia  sent 
their  fleets  to  the  Mediterranean  to  prevent  further  hostilities.  The 
Western  fleets  met  those  of  Turkey  arid  Egypt  in  the  Port  of  Nava- 
rino  in  1827,  became  engaged  with  them,  and  entirely  destroyed 
them.  Russia  declared  war  against  Turkey  in  182B,  but  concluded 
with  it  the  peace  of  Adrianople  in  the  next  year.  The  independence 
of  Greece  was  established  and  confirmed,  and  its  boundaries  were  de- 
fined by  the  London  protocol  of  1830. 

The  downfall  of  the  Turkish  Empire  had  been  looked  upon  for 
several  years  as  a  certain  event  of  the  future.  Napoleon  and  the 
Czar  had  discussed  it  as  early  as  1807.  In  1833,  Sir  Archibald  Ali- 
son wrote  in  the  Quarterly  Review,  that  "  the  Ottoman  power  has, 
within  these  twenty  years,  rapidly  and  irrecoverably  declined."  It 
had  suffered  by  internal  dissensions  as  well  as  by  foreign  wars.  The 
Viceroy  of  Egypt  had  given  it  much  trouble  by  his  efforts  to  secure 
independence,  and  had  gained  a  degree  of  strength  which,  together 
with  his  steady  pursuit  of  the  idea  of  a  sovereignty  of  his  own,  made 
him  a  very  insecure  vassal ;  and  the  Turkish  court,  to  save  itself 
from  destruction,  had  been  obliged  to  plot  and  execute  the  murder 
of  the  Janizaries,  which,  while  it  removed  a  pressing  danger,  also  de- 
prived the  Empire  of  a  strong  military  arm.  For  the  last  fifty  years, 
European  diplomacy  with  reference  to  Turkey  has  consisted  chiefly 
of  endeavors  on  one  side  to  find  opportunities  and  occasions  for  de- 
stroying it,  and  efforts  on  the  other  to  maintain  it ;  and  its  continued 
existence  during  that  period  has  been  mainly  due  to  the  jealousy  en- 
tertained by  England,  France,  and  Austria  against  Russia  and  against 
each  other. 

In  1831,  Russia  assisted  the  Porte  in  suppressing  a  rebellion  of 
Mehemet  Ali,  the  Pasha  of  Egypt.  This  vassal  rebelled  again  in 
1839,  and  was  supported  by  France.  England,  Austria,  Prussia,  and 
Russia  came  to  the  help  of  the  Porte  and  engaged  in  a  quadruple 
alliance  in  1840,  to  protect  the  integrity  of  the  Turkish  Empire. 
Among  the  results  of  these  proceedings  was  the  negotiation  of  a 
treaty  permanently  closing  the  Bosphorus  and  the  Dardanelles 
against  all  foreign  vessels  of  war,  so  long  as  the  Porte  should  enjoy 
peace.  The  Crimean  war,  the  last  of  the  great  wars  of  Turkey 
previous  to  that  of  1877,  originated  in  a  dispute  between  the  Greek 
and  Latin  Churches  at  Jerusalem,  regarding  the  right  to  the  control 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  TURKEY.  gy 

and  use  of  the  "  Holy  places "  of  that  city.  Louis  Napoleon  of 
France  is  accused  of  having  instigated  and  promoted  the  controversy. 
He  supported  the  Latin  priests.  The  Czar  Nicholas  of  Russia  took 
up  the  cause  of  the  Greeks,  and  pressed  it  with  a  demand  to  be 
recognized  as  the  protector  of  all  the  Greek  Christians  under  Otto- 
man rule,  which  was  very  offensive  to  Turkey.  During  the  discus- 
sions of  the  subject  among  the  powers  in  1853,  Turkey  was  spoken 
of  as  the  "  sick  man  "  who  must  soon  die  and  leave  his  estate  to  be 
administered  upon.  The  Czar  proposed  to  the  British  Envoy  at  St. 
Petersburg  a  division  of  the  estate,  in  which,  the  Danubian  princi- 
palities (Moldavia  and  Wallachia),  Servia,  and  Bulgaria,  should  be- 
come independent  States  under  Russian  protection,  and  England 
should  receive  Egypt  and  Candia.  England  refused  to  countenance 
this  scheme.  The  Czar  then  made  a  formal  demand  upon  Turkey 
to  make  an  engagement  "  to  secure  forever  to  the  Orthodox  Church 
and  its  clergy  all  the  rights  and  immunities  which  they  had  already 
enjoyed,  and  those  of  which  they  were  possessed  from  ancient  times." 
The  Porte  refused  to  make  such  an  engagement,  and  diplomatic  re- 
lations between  the  two  powers  were  suspended  in  May,  1853.  The 
Russians  entered  Moldavia  in  July,  1853,  and  declared  war  in  the 
next  November,  the  Sultan  having  declared  war  on  the  5th  of 
October. 

England,  France,  Austria,  and  Prussia  united  to  support  the 
Porte  against  the  Russian  demands,  and  through  their  representa- 
tives adopted  a  protocol  at  Yienna  in  April,  1854,  which  affirmed 
the  duty  of  maintaining  the  territorial  integrity  of  the  Ottoman 
Empire,  and  of  also  securing,  by  every  means  compatible  with  the 
independence  and  sovereignty  of  the  Sultan,  the  civil  and  religious 
rights  of  his  Christian  subjects.  France  and  England  supported 
Turkey  with  their  arms,  and  Sardinia  joined  these  allies  at  the 
beginning  of  1855.  The  war  was  signalized  by  the  brilliant  vic- 
tories of  the  allies  at  the  battles  of  the  Alma,  Balaklava,  and 
Inkerman,  and  the  capture  and  destruction  of  the  fortress  of 
Sevastopol,  in  the  Crimea,  offset  by  the  single  victory  of  the 
Russians  in  the  capture  of  Kars,  in  Armenia.  Negotiations  for 
peace  were  begun,  which  resulted  in  the  conclusion  of  the  Treaty 
of  Paris  on  the  27th  of  April,  1856.  Seven  powers  were  parties  to 
this  treaty,  viz. :  Austria,  France,  Great  Britain,  Prussia,  Russia, 
Sardinia,  and  Turkey.  The  treaty  recognized  Turkey  as  one  of 
the  powers  of  the  European  system,  standing  before  the  public 
law  and  in  diplomatic  negotiations  on  an  equal  footing  with  all  the 


98  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

other  powers ;  engaged  the  contracting  powers  to  respect  the  inde- 
pendence and  integrity  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  and  to  make  every 
assault  upon  the  same  a  question  of  common  interest ;  and  stipulated 
that  in  case  of  a  difference  arising  between  the  Porte  and  any  of 
the  powers  threatening  the  continuance  of  their  good  relations,  the 
other  powers  should  be  given  an  opportunity  to  mediate  before 
resort  to  arms  should  be  had.  It  recited  the  fact  that  the  Sultan 
had  issued  a  new  firman  (the  Hatti-Humayun),  designed  to  improve 
the  condition  of  his  subjects  without  distinction  as  to  religion  or 
race,  and  had  of  his  own  accord  communicated  the  same  to  the  con- 
tracting parties,  and  declared  it  to  be  clearly  understood  that  this 
act  could  not  in  any  case  give  the  said  powers  the  right  to  interfere, 
either  collectively  or  separately,  in  the  relations  of  His  Majesty  the 
Sultan  with  his  subjects,  nor  in  the  internal  administration  of  his 
Empire.  The  treaty  declared  the  Black  Sea  neutral  and  open  to 
the  commerce  of  all  nations ;  re-established  the  rule  which  excluded 
the  vessels  of  foreign  powers  from  the  Dardanelles  and  the  Bos- 
phorus  so  long  as  Turkey  remained  at  peace,  and  prohibited  both 
Russia  and  Turkey  from  keeping  vessels  of  war  in  the  Black  Sea, 
except  such  a  number  as  they  should  both  agree  to  be  necessary  as 
a  police.  It  confirmed  the  position  of  Servia,  Moldavia,  and  Walla- 
chia  in  the  condition  of  semi-independence  which  they  had  gained, 
with  the  full  enjoyment  of  all  the  privileges  and  immunities  which 
they  had  acquired,  pledged  the  Porte  to  preserve  them  all,  and  the 
other  contracting  powers  to  guarantee  their  preservation. 

In  1860  France  intervened  to  protect  the  Christians  from  a  vio- 
lent persecution  which  had  broken  out  against  them  in  Syria,  but 
was  prevented  by  England  from  occupying  that  country.  In  1866, 
an  insurrection  broke  out  in  the  island  of  Candia,  or  Crete,  which 
the  Turkish  Government  suppressed  after  a  long  effort,  marked  by 
many  cruelties,  but  without  interference  from  any  of  the  powers. 
In  18TO,  Russia  took  advantage  of  the  powerless  condition  of 
France,  caused  by  its  entanglement  in  the  war  with  Germany,  to 
declare  that  it  would  be  no  longer  bound  by  the  limitations  im- 
posed by  the  Treaty  of  Paris  upon  the  size  of  its  fieet  in  the  Black 
Sea,  and  proceeded  to  increase  the  number  of  its  vessels  in  those 
waters.  In  1876,  in  the  course  of  the  diplomatic  correspondence 
concerning  the  Bosnian  insurrection  and  the  Servian  war,  it  declared 
that  the  Treaty  of  Paris  had  been  broken,  and  was  no  longer  binding 
upon  it. 


A    WALLACHIAN. 


CHAPTEE  Y. 

PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE  AND  THE   OSMANLI  TURKS. 

The  Ruling  Nationality  in  Turkey — Distribution  of  Races — What  Prevents  the  Assimila- 
tion of  the  Ottomans  with  the  More  Civilized  Nations— Abortive  Attempts  at  Re- 
form— Religious  Toleration — Work  of  Protestant  and  Catholic  Missionaries — The 
Educational  Condition  of  Turkey — Agricultural  and  Mineral  Resources — Tenure  of 
Land — The  Army  and  Navy — Desperate  Condition  of  the  Finances. 

* 

THE  Turkish  Empire  ranks  in  point  of  extent  and  population 
among  the  largest  States  of  the  world.  It  is  only  surpassed  by  the 
British,  Russian,  and  Chinese  Empires  in  both  respects,  and  by  the 
United  States  and  Brazil  in  point  of  population.  But  it  occupies  a 
very  different  position  if  we  compare  its  internal  condition  with  that 
of  other  States.  In  this  respect  it  is  greatly  inferior  to  any  other 
country  of  Europe.  The  Turkish  Government  has  shown  itself 
utterly  unfit  to  establish  an  efficient  administration.  Turkey  has 
come  to  be  known  as  the  "  sick  man,"  and  the  continuance  of  its 
existence  depends  wholly  on  the  disposition  toward  it  of  the  great 
powers  of  Europe. 

The  ruling  nationality  in  Turkey,  the  Ottoman,  or  Osmanli  Turks, 
belong  to  the  Turanian  race.  The  only  other  nationality  of  Europe 
which  belongs  to  the  same  race  are  the  Hungarians,  or  Magyars. 
But  while  the  latter  have  for  nearly  a  thousand  years  been  identified 
with  the  other  nations  of  Europe  in  religion,  have  constantly  received 
large  admixtures  of  the  Aryan  race,  to  which  the  remainder  of  Eu- 
rope belongs,  and  have  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  high  degree  of  cult- 
ure and  political  capacity,  the  Turks  have  during  the  whole  period 
of  four  hundred  years  during  which  they  have  lived  in  Eastern  Eu- 
rope, remained  foreign  and  hostile  to  the  Aryan  nations  of  Europe, 
and  present  to-day  the  most  remarkable  example  of  that  backward- 
ness in  progress  and  civilization  which  characterizes  almost  the 
entire  Turanian  race.  Still  greater  is  the  breach  which  the  religion 
of  the  Turks  constitutes  between  them  and  the  remainder  of  Europe. 
They  have  been  during  all  these  four  hundred  years  the  only  sover- 
eign nation  of  Europe  which  professes  the  Mohammedan  religion. 

(101) 


102  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

The  Mohammedan  States,  without  any  exception,  have  long  been 
in  a  state  of  decline  and  decay.  The  inferiority  of  their  culture  to 
that  of  the  Christian  nations  is  still  more  marked  than  the  inferiority 
of  the  Turanian  race  to ,  the  Aryan.  Thus  both  by  race  and  relig- 
ious affinity  the  Turks  belong  to  a  system  of  States  which  is  con- 
stantly receding  before  the  advance  of  a  superior  civilization,  and  it 
is  only  natural  that  public  opinion  in  the  more  civilized  States  has 
accustomed  itself  to  look  upon  them  as  a  people  who  are  not  only 
strangers  and  foreigners  in  Europe,  but  who  should  give  way  to 
nations  which  in  every  respect  are  their  superiors. 

The  Ottomans,  or  Osmanli  Turks,  predominate  very  largely  in 
the  Asiatic  part  of  the  Empire,  but  in  the  European  part  they  form 
only  one-eighth  of  the  whole  population.  Affiliated  with  them  are 
the  Arabs,  whom  they  conquered,  and  whose  religion  they  have 
embraced.  The  Arabs  number  less  than  one  million  of  the  sixteen 
millions  of  the  population  of  Asiatic  Turkey,  but  they  constitute 
the  whole  of  the  settled  population  (aside  from  the  African  races 
proper)  of  the  African  dependencies.  Next  in  importance  in  Asiatic 
Turkey  are  the  Armenian,  Greek,  Syrian,  and  Chaldean  Christians, 
the  Turkomans,  near  relatives  of  the  Turks,  Kurds,  and  Druses. 
The  Slavic  races  constitute  one-half  the  population  of  European 
Turkey.  They  number  about  four  millions  and  are  four  times  as 
numerous  as  the  Turks.  After  them  come  a  million  Turks,  900,000 
Greeks,  820,000  Albanians,  200,000  Armenians,  70,000  Jews,  and 
11,000  Tartars.  The  actual  proportion  of  Mohammedans  is,  how- 
ever, larger  than  appears  from  these  figures  ;  for  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  the  Slavic  people,  particularly  in  Bosnia,  have  professed  the 
Mohammedan  faith,  and  about  two-thirds  of  the  Albanians  are  of 
that  religion  ;  so  that  the  Mohammedans  number  about  one-third  of 
the  whole. 

A  curious  fact  in  relation  to  the  different  races  which  people  Eu- 
ropean Turkey  is  the  irregular  manner  in  which  they  are  distributed 
and  mingled.  "  No  locality,"  says  Baker,  in  his  "  Turkey,"  "  can  be 
found  where  the  population  is  exclusively  of  the  same  nationality, 
but  a  rival  race  crops  up  here  and  there  and  jostles  its  neighbors. 
We  find,  for  instance,  a  quarter  where  the  majority  of  the  popula- 
tion is  Bulgarian,  but  among  them  in  considerable  numbers  are 
Turks,  Greeks,  Circassians,  and  Gypsies.  In  another  quarter  the 
majority  are  Albanians,  but  they  again  have  to  bear  the  friction  of 
Bulgarians,  Wallachs,  Greeks,  and  Turks;  and  so  on  all  over  the 


CONDITION  OF  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE. 


103 


country.  Each  of  these  nations  has  its  own  language,  religion,  and 
customs ;  and  it  therefore  follows  that  the  difficulty  of  governing 
the  mass  lies  in  a  direct  ratio  to  the  number  of  races  represented  in 
it ;  and  when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  in  Europe  alone  no  less  than 
eight  distinct  nationalities,  each  with  a  considerable  population,  and 
several  others  of  smaller  degree  can  claim  the  rights  of  Turkish 
subjects,  some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  obstacles  in  the  path  of 
good  government  in  Turkey."  Mr.  Baker  illustrates  the  difficulty 
which  the  Government  experiences  in  dealing  with  this  variety  of 
races  by  supposing  the  embarrassments  which  England  would  en- 
counter if  it  had  fifteen  Irelands  to  manage  instead  of  one. 

The  Turks,  according  to  the  latest  review  of  the  distribution  of 
population  as  given  in  No.  7  of  Peterman's  Miitheilungen,  for 
1876,  are  to  be  found  as  a  compact  population  only  in  the  Yilayet 
of  the  Danube  and  the  sanjaks  of  Rustchuk,  Tultcha,  and  Yarna. 
They  are  less  numerous  in  the  Ehodope  Mountains.  On  the  shores 
of  the  JEgean  Sea  and  the  Sea  of  Marmora  and  on  the  south-east 
shore  of  the  Black  Sea,  they  are  greatly  outnumbered  by  the  Greeks, 
especially  in  the  direction  of  Constantinople.  The  Bulgarians  oc- 
cupy the  country  south  of  the  Danube,  their  southern  boundary 
being  a  line  passing  through  the  towns  of  ISTissa,  Prisrend,  Ochrida, 
Kastoria,  Magostos,  Salonica,  Adrianople,  and  Burgas,  on  the  Black 
Sea.  They  are  also  scattered  in  various  districts  of  Albania,  Wal- 
lachia,  and  the  Dobrudja.  The  Servians  (including  Bosnians, 
Herzegovinians,  and  Montenegrins)  occupy  the  space  between  the 
Bulgarian  Morava,  the  Save,  and  the  Dalmatian  frontier  as  far  as 
Albania.  On  the  right  bank  of  the  Morava,  their  villages  are  inter- 
spersed with  Rumanian  settlements.  The  Albanians  inhabit  the 
country  south  of  Montenegro  down  to  the  frontier  of  the  Greek 
kingdom.  Other  races  in  European  Turkey  are  the  Zinzars,  nearly 
related  to  the  Rumanians,  most  of  whom  live  among  the  Albanians 
in  Epirus  and  Thessaly ;  the  Armenians  in  the  Turkish  towns ;  the 
Magyars,  or  Hungarians ;  the  Nogai  Tartars  in  the  Dobrudja;  the 
Gypsies  in  Rumania,  Albania,  and  Bulgaria ;  the  Jews,  Russians, 
Arabs,  Poles,  and  Germans.  The  last  three  races  are,  however,  but 
scantily  represented. 

The  greatest  drawback  to  the  assimilation  of  Turks  with  Euro- 
peans is  polygamy,  which  imposes  upon  the  people  social  ideas  and 
customs  opposite  to  those  which  prevail  in  the  "West,  Under  the 
practice  of  polygamy,  and  more  by  its  influence  than  by  any  other 


104  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

assignable  cause,*  the  Turks,  once  the  formidable  conquerors  of  the 
fairest  part  of  the  world — particularly  those  of  the  wealthier  classes, 
whose  opportunities  to  enjoy  a  plurality  of  wives  have  been  the 
best — have  sunk  into  a  kind  of  indolent  stupor  and  listlessness. 
Lassitude  characterizes  their  actions  in  private  and  public.  The 
whole  country  bears  evidence  of  the  indifference  and  lack  of  energy 
which  seem  to  have  become  one  of  the  inherited  qualities  of  the 
Ottomans,  and  to  be  growing  more  obvious  with  each  generation. 
It  is  generally  admitted  that  the  stock  of  the  Imperial  family  is  worn 
out,  so  that  there  is  not  one  in  the  whole  list  of  eligible  candidates 
for  Sultan  who  is  really  competent  for  the  position.  The  other 
families  of  high  station  are  not  much  better  off.  With  a  few  ex- 
ceptions, the  really  competent  higher  officers  of  the  nation  are  men 
who  have  risen  from  a  low  origin,  or  are  foreigners,  whose  Otto- 
manized  names  are  the  only  things  about  them  that  are  Turkish. 

Another  influence  which  keeps  Turkey  apart  from  the  western 
nations  of  Europe  is  found  in  the  fanaticism  and  lack  of  intelligence 
of  the  Mussulmans  of  the  remote  provinces,  who  oppose  every  effort 
of  the  Government  to  carry  out  reforms,  and  defeat  it  unless  it  is 
supported  by  a  stronger  force  than  can  be  afforded.  Assimilation 
is  further  hindered  by  the  imbecility  and  corruptibility  of  the  pro- 
vincial administrators,  who,  remote  from  the  seat  of  Government, 
and  holding  their  positions  by  a  tenure  regulated  rather  by  the 
caprice  of  the  court  than  by  any  consideration  of  their  fidelity, 
think  more  of  filling  their  purses  and  having  an  easy  time  than  of 
governing  well. 

The  Porte  has  made  several  attempts  to  introduce  constitutional 
reforms  into  the  Empire  ;  they  have  not  been  supported  by  efficient 
measures  to  execute  them,  and  have  been  left  inoperative,  and  the 
misrule  they  were  to  abolish  has  hardly  been  disturbed  by  them. 
Observing  and  remembering  these  successive  failures  to  accomplish 
any  salutary  object,  the  people  of  Europe  have  acquired  the  habit 
of  regarding  any  Turkish  promise  to  do  away  with  an  evil  or  to 
improve  administration  anywhere  as  a  nullity.  Yet  some  improve- 
ment has  been  realized  from  these  efforts. 

The  first  promise  of  general  reform  was  made  by  Sultan  Mah- 
moud  II.,  in  November,  1839,  in  a  document  which  was  called  the 
Hatti-Sherif  of  Gulhane.  Sixteen  years  passed,  in  which  noth- 


*The  direct  influence  of  polygamy  upon  the  deterioration  of  the  Turkish  people  is 
treated  of  fully  in  another  chapter. 


CONDITION  OF  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE.  IO5 

ing  was  done  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  this  charter,  when  it  was 
renewed  and  extended  by  Sultan  Abdul  Medjid  in  the  charter  called 
the  Hatti-Humayun,  promulgated  in  February,  1856.  The  renewal 
of  the  charter  was  mentioned  in  the  Treaty  of  Paris  as  the  consider- 
ation on  which  the  powers  admitted  Turkey  to  the  company  of 
European  States,  and  guaranteed  to  it  its  rights  as  an  independent 
and  inviolable  power.  The  charter  thus  renewed,  professed  to 
secure  liberty  of  worship  and  equality  of  rights  to  the  Christian 
inhabitants  of  Turkey,  and  promised  that  the  laws  should  be  codi- 
fied, the  administration  of  justice  reformed,  that  the  collection  of 
the  taxes  should  be  regulated,  and  that  banks,  public  institutions, 
and  public  improvements  should  be  established  or  prosecuted.  More 
than  twenty  years  longer  elapsed,  during  which  the  charter  was  not 
carried  out,  although  an  immediate  execution  of  its  provisions  was 
repeatedly  promised  whenever  and  wherever  manifestations  of  local 
dissatisfaction  became  formidable,  when  it  was  again  renewed,  with 
additional  features,  all  in  favor  of  liberty  and  liberality,  in  the  Con- 
stitution of  December,  1876.  This  constitution  copies  the  best 
features  of  the  fundamental  law  of  the  most  enlightened  govern- 
ments, and  would,  if  faithfully  executed,  make  Turkey  one  of  the 
freest  States.  It  has,  moreover,  gone,  in  part,  into  actual  operation, 
and  the  experiment  of  applying  it  has  been  begun  with  an  earnest- 
ness which  should  have  obtained  for  it  a  fairer  trial  than  Turkey  has 
been  allowed  to  give  it. 

The  first  Turkish  Parliament  has  been  chosen,  and  has  actually 
sat  and  deliberated  under  the  new  Constitution.  It  is  a  respectable 
body  in  point  of  ability  and  culture.  Among  its  members  are 
cultivated  scholars  and  statesmen  of  enlightened  views  and  far- 
sightedness, who  are  capable  of  giving  credit  to  any  legislative 
body  on  the  earth.  Whatever  may  be  its  shortcomings,  it  is  a  real 
Parliament,  representing  its  constituencies,  and  is  a  beginning. 
Russia  has  not  yet  had  a  Parliament,  or  taken  steps  to  call  one. 
The  Grand  Duchy  of  Finland  has  one,  it  is  true,  but  it  is  an  insti- 
tution which  the  country  possessed  before  it  was  incorporated  with 
Russia,  and  which  has  been  preserved  to  it,  in  distinction  from  the 
usage  which  has  prevailed  in  other  parts  of  the  Empire,  by  especial 
concession. 

Turkey  has  made  great  advances  in  the  direction  of  religious 
liberty.  From  being  one  of  the  most  intolerant  of  despotisms,  it 
has  become,  so  far  as  governmental  declarations  can  make  it,  one  of 


106  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

the  most  tolerant  of  States.  The  equal  right  of  Mussulman  and 
non-Mussulman  subjects  has  been  repeatedly  declared,  with  every 
variation  of  language  and  particulars.  Only  in  respect  to  the  lia- 
bility to  conscription  has  a  distinction  been  made,  and  the  distinction 
has  in  this  case  been  based  on  obvious  considerations  of  policy. 
This  distinction  was  practically  abolished  in  1876,  when  the  Gov- 
ernment gave  notice  that  it  would  accept,  and  did  accept,  Christian 
volunteers;  and  under  the  new  policy  Christian  corps  have  been 
actually  organized  among  the  Turkish  defensive  forces.  The  en- 
rollment of  Christians  for  military  service  equally  with  Mohamme- 
dans has,  furthermore,  been  definitely  and  permanently  provided 
for  in  the  new  Constitution  of  1876. 

Non-Mohammedans  are  eligible  and  have  been  frequently  ap- 
pointed to  offices  of  high  trust  and  profit.  They  may  be  found  in 
stations  near  to  the  household  of  the  Sultan,  and  in  close  connection 
with  the  cabinet.  The  appointment  of  Christian  Governors  or 
responsible  administrators  in  the  provinces  is  far  from  being  an 
extraordinary  occurrence ;  and  in  the  Parliament  which  met  in 
1877,  all  the  religions  of  the  Empire  were  fairly  represented. 
Thus,  among  the  deputies  returned  from  Constantinople  at  the 
election  of  the  second  of  March,  were  five  Turks,  four  Christians, 
and  one  Jew ;  and  of  the  Christians,  one  was  a  Greek,  one  was  a 
Roman  Catholic  Armenian,  and  two  were  Gregorian  Armenians. 

Christians  and  Jews  form  their  societies  and  congregations,  build 
churches  and  synagogues,  and  worship  with  entire  freedom,  so  far 
as  the  Government  is  concerned,  throughout  the  Empire.  Their 
ecclesiastical  organizations  and  administrations  are  respected  and 
upheld  by  the  Jaws,  the  jurisdiction  of  their  tribunals  as  to  internal 
affairs,  and  their  discipline  are  respected ;  and  no  obstacle  is  opposed 
to  the  exercise  of  his  legitimate  authority  over  his  own  people  by 
any  bishop,  priest,  rabbi,  or  pastor,  be  he  Greek,  Armenian,  Roman 
Catholic,  Jew,  or  Protestant.  Christians  are,  however,  not  pro- 
tected from  popular  outbreaks  or  oppression  by  local  officers,  and 
this  is  the  text  of  most  of  their  complaints  of  grievance.  It  shows 
that  the  Government  is  inefficient  and  badly  administered.  It  is 
worthy  of  remark  that  the  Jews  make  stronger  complaints  of  worse 
treatment  which  they  endure  at  the  hands  of  the  professed  Chris- 
tians of  Rumania. 

The  work  of  the  Missionary  Societies  is  countenanced  by  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  receives  as  much  protection  as  the  Porte  affords  to  any 


CONDITION  OF  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE.  IQJ 

of  its  subjects.  The  operations  of  American  Societies  in  particular 
have  been  very  successful.  Armenia,  Asia  Minor,  and  the  regions 
around  Constantinople  are  dotted  with  the  churches  of  the  American 
Board,  and  Syria  with  those  of  the  Presbyterian  Board.  The  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  has  a  smaller  mission  work  in  Bulgaria,  the 
United  Presbyterian  Church  one  in  Syria,  and  the  United  Presbyte- 
rian Mission  in  Egypt  has  been  very  prosperous,  and  has  become  quite 
important.  Flourishing  schools  for  boys  and  girls,  young  men  and 
young  women,  are  connected  with  these  missions  at  important  points, 
and  are  recognized  as  valuable  auxiliaries  to  the  education  of  the 
people.  Robert  College,  of  the  American  Board,  at  Constantinople, 
is  a  well-established  institution  in  high  repute,  enjoying  the  confi- 
dence of  the  people  and  the  Government.  It  has  a  faculty  of  Ameri- 
can teachers  of  recognized  scholarship,  and  competent  Armenian, 
Bulgarian,  French,  Greek,  and  Turkish  professors,  and  is  well  at- 
tended, the- majority  of  the  students  being  Bulgarians. 

tThe  Syrian  Protestant  College  at  Beyrut,  which  grew  out  of  the 
Presbyterian  Mission  in  that  city,  is  another  institution  which  is  as- 
suming prominence.  It  has  literary  and  medical  departments,  an 
astronomical  observatory,  and  a  faculty  of  excellent  instructors,  who 
are  for  the  most  part  graduates  of  the  Union  Theological  Seminary 
in  New  York  City.  It  is  surrounded  by  other  schools  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Mission,  with  two  English  schools  and  the  school  of  the 
Kaiserswerth  Deaconesses.  The  colleges  of  the  American  Board 
at  Harpoot  and  Aintab,  and  the  schools  of  the  United  Presbyterians 
at  Osiout,  Egypt,  are  younger  institutions  which  promise  well. 
Besides  the  higher  institutions,  nearly  every  Mission  station  has  its 
primary  or  academic  school,  well  attended  and  appreciated.  The 
Missionary  Societies  have  built  up,  in  connection  with  their  Missions, 
extensive  publishing  enterprises.  The  American  Board  issues  from 
its  presses,  books,  tracts,  and  papers  in  the  various  languages  which 
are  spoken  in  the  Empire.  The  works  in  Armenian,  published  by 
this  Society,  which  are  numerous  and  meritorious,  deserve  especial 
commendation.  The  Presbyterian  presses  at  Beyrut  sent  forth  in 
1876  thirty-eight  thousand,  four  hundred  and  fifty  volumes,  com- 
prising 13,786,980  pages  of  Bibles,  tracts,  and  other  books,  including 
a  series  of  text-books  and  a  number  of  juvenile  works. 

The  missionaries  of  these  Societies  often  bear  witness,  in  their 
communications  to  the  Home  Boards,  to  the  respectful  treatment 
which  they  receive  from  the  Government,  and  the  general  harmony 


IOS  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

of  the  relations  which  exist  between  them  and  the  responsible  offi- 
cers with  whom  they  have  to  deal.  The  Rev.  Dr.  E.  E.  Bliss,  of 
Constantinople,  in  a  paper  which  he  has  recently  published*  on  the 
"  Indirect  Results  of  Missionary  Labor  in  Northern  Turkey,"  says, 
speaking  of  the  battle  which  has  been  going  on,  for  some  twenty -five 
or  thirty  years  past,  on  questions  of  religious  liberty :  "  The  world 
knows,  too,  or  should  know,  that  although  the  victory  has  not  been 
so  completely  and  finally  on  the  side  of  liberty  as  has  been  desired, 
or  as  has,  sometimes,  in  the  joy  of  notable  success  in  special  issues, 
been  claimed,  yet  religious  liberty  is  to-day  enjoyed  in  a  remark- 
able degree  compared  with  what  was  the  case  thirty  or  forty  years 
ago."  The  presence,  the  teaching,  and  the  steadfast  maintenance 
of  their  principles  by  the  missionaries,  he  adds,  "  have  had  a  very 
great  influence,  not  only  in  directing  the  attention  both  of  Govern- 
ment officials  and  of  the  mass  of  the  people  to  the  question  at  issue, 
but  in  spreading  enlightened  and  just  views,  and  in  securing  right  ac- 
tion in  regard  to  it."  The  Rev.  Mr.  Fuller,  of  the  American  Board, 
writing  from  Aintab,  March  22,  1877, f  says :  "  The  Government 
is  now  nervously  anxious  not  only  about  the  safety,  but  even  the 
opinion  of  foreigners,  and  they  are  very  prompt  to  render  us  any  aid 
we  ask.  We  have  nothing  to  fear  while  the  present  Government 
stands,  except  it  be  from  some  vicious  or  fanatical  person  planning 
secret  mischief,  or  from  some  suddenly  excited  and  reckless  mob. 
The  Moslems  always  seem  friendly  to  us,  and  great  numbers  call  on 
us,  and  show  marked  tokens  of  respect,  yet  in  these  times  some  sud- 
den passion  may  outweigh  it  all." 

Another  letter  from  a  missionary  of  the  same  Society,  of  Decem- 
ber 29,  1876,  speaks  of  an  annual  celebration  having  just  been  held 
by  the  Protestants  of  Turkey,  in  commemoration  of  the  issuing  of 
the  firman  granting  them  religious  toleration.  Dr.  Bliss  published 
in  the  Missionary  Herald  for  February,  1877,  an  article  on  the 
"Attitude  of  the  Missionaries  in  Turkey,"  which  shows  how  they 
have  gained  and  hold  the  respect  and  confidence  of  the  Moslem  offi- 
cials, simply  by  adherence  to  the  principle  of  abstinence  from  all  in- 
terference in  political  affairs.  A  prejudice  once  existed  against  them 
founded  on  the  suspicion  that  they  were  political  agents,  but  this  has 
long  since  disappeared,  and  men  now  "  recognize  the  fact  that  the 
doctrines  preached  by  the  missionaries  will,  through  their  stimulat- 


*  t  Missionary  Herald,  1877. 


CONDITION  OF  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE.  IO9 

ing  and  elevating  power,  at  length  exert  an  influence  in  the  domain 
of  politics ;  but  they  admit  the  distinction  between  the  legitimate 
influence  of  religious  doctrine  and  political  propagandism."  The 
missionaries  had  not,  however,  hesitated  to  denounce  acts  of  oppres- 
sion coming  under  their  observation,  by  whomsoever  committed ; 
they  had  remonstrated  with  Turkish  officials  and  ecclesiastical  rulers 
in  such  cases ;  had  brought  wrong  acts  to  the  notice  of  the  Govern- 
ment, and  had  even,  in  important  cases,  appealed  to  European  and 
American  public  opinion  and  the  friendly  offices  of  foreign  Govern- 
ments, but  had  done  such  things  openly  and  above-board,  and  avoided 
incurring  prejudice.  During  the  exciting  events  of  1875  and  1876, 
while  holding  aloof  from  political  schemes,  the  missionaries  in  Bul- 
garia endeavored  to  discharge  all  the  duties  of  Christian  philanthropy ; 
they  advised  the  people  against  any  attempt  at  insurrection,  and  as 
soon  after  the  massacres  took  place,  as  it  became  safe,  they  visited  the 
principal  places  in  the  ravaged  district.  They  afterward  did  all  in 
their  power  to  make  known  to  the  Turkish  Government  and  the 
Christian  public,  the  greatness  of  the  ravages  committed,  and  at  the 
time  of  writing  were  administering  succor  to  the  suffering  survivors. 
These  acts  were  done  with  the  full  knowledge  of  the  Turkish  au- 
thorities, but  exposed  the  missionaries  to  no  suspicion  of  sinister 
designs. 

The  Rev.  N".  G.  Clark,  Secretary  of  the  American  Board,  at  the 
close  of  June,  1877,  published  in  the  papers  a  statement  concerning 
the  condition  of  the  missionaries  at  Erzerum,  Armenia,  who  were 
almost  in  the  center  of  the  military  operations  in  Asia,  to  the  effect 
that  the  Turkish  authorities  were  everywhere,  so  far  as  was  known, 
considerate  and  obliging;  that  while  the  missionaries  had  been 
given  the  largest  liberty  to  go  or  stay,  they  had  so  far  decided  to 
stay ;  and  that  they  had  been  able  to  prosecute  their  work,  in  spite 
of  the  unsettled  condition  of  affairs,  with  but  little  interruption,  and 
with  a  larger  measure  of  success  than  in  any  former  year ;  and  that 
they  had  "  not  expressed  a  tithe  of  the  anxiety  shown  by  their 
friends  at  home." 

The  missionaries  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  are  also  con- 
ducting a  large  number  of  schools,  some  of  which  are  in  a  flourishing; 
condition.  The  funds  are  supplied  by  foreign  missionary  bodies,, 
by  the  Congregation  of  the  Propaganda,  and  the  French  Govern- 
ment, which  contributes  40,000  francs  a  year.  The  Austrian  Gov- 
ernment has  been  the  great  protector  of  the  Armenian  Catholics.. 


1 10  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Their  colleges  and  schools  are  ably  conducted  by  the  celebrated 
Order  of  the  Mekhitarists,  who  give  instruction  in  Armenian, 
French,  and  Turkish,  and  have  furnished  some  of  the  best  Turkish 
scholars  among  the  Christians  in  the  Government  service.  In  the 
great  towns  are  Propaganda  colleges,  on  the  French  system,  in 
which  French  is  the  chief  language  for  instruction. 

An  edition  of  the  Bible  was  printed  in  Arabic  by  the  American 
Bible  Society  in  1846,  and  is  widely  circulated  in  the  East,  and  a 
Roman  Catholic  translation,  in  high  Arabic,  is  in  process  of  publi- 
cation from  the  Jesuit  Press  at  Beyrut. 

The  tolerance  which  permits  this  development  of  missionary 
enterprise  is  of  recent  origin,  for  it  is  only  about  thirty  years  since 
beheading  was  the  punishment  prescribed  by  law  for  a  Mussulman 
who  changed  his  religion. 

The  Turks  have  been  brought,  by  their  contact  with  the  Western 
people,  to  appreciate  the  advantages  of  European  civilization,  and 
observe  the  superior  strength  it  gives.  They  have  striven  to  imitate 
it,  and  to  adopt  outwardly  some  of  its  more  obvious  features.  They 
have,  further,  been  forced,  by  the  pressure  of  the  Western  powers 
in  behalf  of  their  Christian  subjects,  to  adopt,  as  we  have  seen, 
certain  reforms  in  law  and  methods  of  administration,  tending  to 
make  their  system  of  government  seem  more  liberal.  These  changes 
are  as  yet  mostly  superficial,  and  mark  the  adoption  of  the  forms  of 
which  they  are  imitations,  rather  than  of  the  principles  which  inspire 
European  civilization,  yet  they  are  encouraging.  They  show  that 
the  Turks  may  be  taught  to  try  to  assimilate  with  the  Western 
people;  and  it  will  be  hardly  possible  to  maintain  such  liberal 
amendments  as  the  Porte  has  made  in  its  laws  and  usages,  without 

o        l 

in  time  imbibing  some  of  the  spirit  with  which  similar  legal  and 
political  principles  have  been  applied  in  other  countries.  If  the 
Turks  are  still  behind  in  the  application  of  constitutional  freedom, 
we  must  remember  that  it  is  not  yet  thirty  years  since  the  majority 
of  the  States  of  Europe  which  now  talk  so  earnestly  of  forcing  this 
boon  upon  the  subjects  of  the  Porte,  exchanged  the  irresponsible 
government  of  an  absolute  king  for  that  of  a  Parliament  and 
ministry  responsible  to  the  people;  and  if  Christians  are  badly 
treated  in  Turkey,  that  it  is  a  still  shorter  period  since  Protestants 
were  subject  to  intolerant  legislation  in  several  Catholic  States,  and 
Catholics  suffered  from  intolerant  laws  in  several  Protestant  States. 
The  schools  of  Turkey  are  practically  left  in  the  charge  of  the 


XLP  J /i owing  tJie  c&tlrilmfrat  tf  tAe  fr+ey?fii/ycr/Itct4)Cda,Tict 




tvnprtrtrieJi  <tf  t.'t/itycfii  urc  Mit/n-ft/rtf  Mtu.-—*'   <i-itd  Hit    -nanua   ff  '/,/if,  Vifmieti  irrir  m.  n'fate  a''"" 
jiff  pr    tef>jKa'nt,"*ecn«tM  U>    '/ti«*'< •"'•'  »f  «>d,«t;'« ,,/•>  ufOtifMrn^   „„«?;,,  /<.„•„•  ff,,  »Mm7w 
WfVitctytf  3/ct,nn.6e  m-e  dagooo  /'/iruftom    antityerfae  Jffi.Xtttnmce€a.rni: 


TYPES    OF    ASIA    MINOR    AND    ARMENIA. 

T.      BANDIT   OR    BRAVO   OF  AIDIN.  2.      TURK    OF   TREBIZOND.  3.      TURKISH   NOBLEMAN    OF   ERZERUM. 


CONDITION  OF  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE.  u$ 

several  religious  denominations.  Besides  the  schools  of  the  Mis- 
sionary Societies,  to  which  we  have  already  referred,  schools  are 
conducted  by  French  and  Italian  Roman  Catholic  missionaries,  the 
Greek  and  Armenian  churches,  and  the  Jews.  The  Medresses,  or 
colleges  attached  to  the  Mohammedan  Mosques,  afford  instruction  in 
the  Turkish  language,  Arabic  and  Persian,  the  Koran,  and  Com- 
mentaries upon  it,  and  teach,  though  in  a  very  defective  manner, 
theology,  law,  philosophy,  rhetoric,  morals,  history,  and  geography. 
Primary  schools  have  long  been  established  in  most  of  the  towns. 
An  effort  was  made  in  the  educational  law  of  1869  to  provide  a 
general  system  of  instruction,  but  like  most  of  the  promising 
schemes  of  the  Government,  it  has  been  of  little  effect  for  want  of 
execution.  It  made  education  obligatory  for  boys  of  between  six 
and  eleven,  and  for  girls  of  between  six  and  ten  years  of  age,  and 
required  every  village  and  every  ward  of  a  town  to  have  at  least 
one  primary  school.  For  secondary  schools,  it  provided  that  every 
town  of  more  than  one  thousand  houses  should  have  a  preparatory 
school,  with  a  three  years'  course  of  instruction,  and  that'  the  chief 
town  of  every  province  should  have  a  lyceum,  with  a  six  years' 
course.  It  directed  that  separate  schools  be  established  for  Moham- 
medans and  for  Christians  wherever  the  population  was  sufficient 
to  warrant  it,  with  instruction  to  be  given  in  the  Koran  or  the 
Christian  religion,  according  to  the  faith  of  the  pupils,  as  a  part  of 
the  regular  course.  It  also  made  provision  for  normal  schools. 
The  school  system  was  placed  under  the  control  of  the  Imperial 

Council  of  Education,  and  it  was  directed  that  the  school  authorities 

.  ' 

in  the  provinces  and  departments  be  composed  in  equal  numbers 
of  Mohammedans  and  persons  of  other  religious  belief.  According 
to  the  latest  accounts,  there  were  in  Constantinople  454  primary 
schools  of  all  denominations,  with  33,000  pupils,  and  in  all  Turkey 
95  superior  primary  schools,  with  about  7,600  pupils.  A  university, 
with  faculties  of  literature,  law,  and  natural  science  and  mathe- 
matics, was  opened  at  Constantinople  in  1870,  and  the  capital  and 
its  vicinity  are  provided  with  several  special  and  technical  schools. 
Among  these  is  the  School  of  Administration,  established  in  1862,  a 
lay  institution,  which  educates  Mussulmans  for  appointments  as 
governors,  or  magistrates,  of  small  districts. 

The  literature  of  Turkey  dates  from  the  beginning  of  the  Os- 
manli  dynasty,  and  had  assumed  form  before  Constantinople  was 
captured.  It  is  founded  on  Arabic  and  Persian  models,  and,  al- 


1 14  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

though  it  is  respectable  in  quantity,  it  holds  a  very  inferior  place  in 
a  comparative  history  of  the  literature  of  the  world.  Its  most  flour- 
ishing period  was  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Literature  and  science 
have  received  increased  attention  within  the  last  generation,  and 
Turkey  has  many  men  of  letters  who  are  well  known  and  well 
esteemed  abroad.  Several  scientific  and  literary  societies  have  been 
established  at  Constantinople,  and  publish  journals  and  magazines 
of  merit.  The  publication  of  a  "  Universal  Cyclopedia,''  in  sixteen 
volumes,  in  Arabic,  based  in  part  upon  "  Appleton's  New  American 
Cyclopedia,"  has  been  begun  at  Beyrut  by  Mr.  B.  Bistanys,  a  con- 
vert of  the  Presbyterian  Mission  at  that  place. 

All  parts  of  Turkey  enjoy  a  climate  and  a  capacity  for  agricultural 
development  not  excelled  by  those  of  any  country.  Egypt,  Syria, 
and  Asia  Minor  were  the  most  fruitful  countries  of  ancient  times, 
and  surpassed  any  countries  of  Europe  in  wealth.  They  have  grown 
poor  through  misgovernment  and  the  neglect  to  which  it  leads. 
The  European  parts  of  the  Empire  are  not  so  well  situated,  for  their 
climate  is  less  favorable ;  but  the  soil  is  good,  and  the  land  is  capable 
of  a  culture  at  least  approaching  that  of  the  best  parts  of  Europe. 
Husbandry  is  in  a  state  of  primitive  simplicity,  the  tillage  is  rude 
and  imperfect,  and  the  taxes,  or  rather  the  tax-gatherers,  are  oppres- 
sive,'so  that  the  farmers  are  hardly  able  to  earn  more  than  a  bare 
subsistence.  The  forests  produce  timber  of  fir,  pine,  beech,  oak, 
lime,  and  ash ;  the  fields,  millet,  rice,  cotton,  rye,  barley,  and  Indian 
corn  ;  the  orchards,  the  best  fruits  of  the  temperate  zone.  Asiatic 
Turkey  produces  all  the  grains  of  a  southern  climate,  cedars,  cy- 
presses, and  oaks  on  the  mountains ;  sycamores  and  mulberries  on 
the  lower  hills,  and  olives,  figs,  citrons,  oranges,  and  pomegranates 
in  the  plains.  The  figs,  olives,  and  vine  products  of  Asiatic  Turkey 
and  the  prunes  and  rose  extracts  of  European  Turkey,  form  impor- 
tant articles  in  the  commerce  of  the  world.  Mines  of  various  metals 
are  numerous  in  both  Turkeys,  and  were  worked  in  ancient  times 
with  profit.  At  present  they  yield  but  little,  and  that  is  got  in  large 
part  by  working  over  the  debris  which  the  ancients  have  left.  The 
country  was  once  better  watered  than  it  is  at  present,  and  supported 
large  herds  of  cattle.  It  is  now,  in  consequence  of  the  removal  of 
the  trees,  as  is  generally  supposed,  subject  to  scorching  droughts, 
but  the  pasturage  is  good  in  the  valleys.  Manufactures  are  not  nu- 
merous or  extensive,  but  the  Turks  make  certain  preparations  and 
fine  articles  of  value,  in  which  they  defy  competition  and  command 


CONDITION  OF  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE.  n$ 

the  markets  of  the  world.  There  are  no  official  statistics  of  the  for- 
eign commerce  of  the  Empire,  but  it  is  quite  important,  and  is  said  to 
be  increasing.  The  exports  are  estimated  at  about  ten  million  pounds 
sterling.  They  consist  chiefly  of  grain  products,  wool,  goats'  hair, 
drugs,  dye-stuffs,  fruit  products,  perfumery,  and  fancy  articles. 

A  railway  system  was  begun  in  1865,  of  which  on  the  first  of 
January,  1876,  1,137  miles  were  open — 965  miles  in  European,  172 
miles  in  Asiatic  Turkey.  The  telegraph  lines  have  a  total  length  of 
17,618  miles.  The  post-office  is  in  its  infancy,  and  is  as  yet  mostly 
in  the  hands  of  foreigners.  There  are  only  four  hundred  and  thirty 
post-offices  in  the  whole  Empire. 

Russia  is  a  primitive  country,  which  is  passing  through  the  first 
stages  of  its  development.  Turkey  is  a  country  once  highly  civil- 
ized, rich,  and  progressive,  which  has  fallen  into  decay.  In  this 
respect  the  promise  of  the  future  is  with  Russia. 

The  lands  of  Turkey  are  divided  into  Yakuf,  or  Church  prop- 
erty, private  lands  and  domain  lands.  The  Vdkuf  property  con- 
sists of  that  which  actually  belongs  to  the  ecclesiastical  establish- 
ments, and  of  that  which  lapses  to  the  ecclesiastical  boards  in  default 
of  direct  heirs  to  the  owner.  The  law  affords  easy  means  of  prevent- 
ing the  lapse  of  estates  of  the  latter  class,  by  permitting  sales  to  per- 
sons who  have  direct  heirs,  and  by  affording  facilities  for  the  con- 
version of  Yakuf  into  fee-simple  titles.  Private  property,  called 
Mulkh,  is  held  by  a  tenure  equivalent  to  our  freehold  tenure,  by  a 
title  acquired  directly  from  the  Government,  and  registered  in  the 
owner's  name.  A  law  recently  enacted  permits  the  owner  of  a 
mulkh  selling  it  to  reserve  a  perpetual  charge  upon  it,  which  is  called 
a  Gedik,  and  is,  in  effect,  a  sort  of  mortgage.  The  domain  lands  are 
Mirij  or  lands  appropriated  to  the  State  Treasury,  unoccupied  or 
waste  lands,  escheated  or  forfeited  lands,  the  domains  and  lands  as- 
signed to  the  Sultan,  his  family,  and  various  offices  and  officers,  and 
the  military  fiefs.  The  tenure  of  the  last  has  been  abolished,  and 
nearly  all  the  lands  formerly  held  by  it  have  passed  to  the  Govern- 
ment. Under  recent  enactments,  the  transfer  of  landed  property  is 
simple  and  expeditious ;  the  evidence  of  it  can  be  made  by  the 
registry  as  secure  as  in  any  other  country,  and  the  purchaser  can  in 
most  cases,  where  he  finds  the  title  complicated,  receive  a  fresh  one 
from  the  Government.  Previous  to  1867,  foreigners  purchasing 
land  in  Turkey  had  to  hold  it  in  the  name  of  some  Ottoman  subject, 
but  a  law  passed  in  that  year  gave  them  the  right  to  hold  in  their 


1 16  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

own  names.  The  proprietors  of  estates  are  usually  non-resident, 
and  cultivate  their  lands  through  tenants,  to  whom  they  are  let 
usually  on  the  metayer  system,  or  on  shares.  The  tenant  often  be- 
comes indebted  to  his  landlord  for  borrowed  money.  As  he  is  never 
able  to  pay  the  debt,  and  the  landlord  can  not  afford  to  discharge 
him  and  lose  the  capital  represented  by  the  debt,  he  becomes  prac- 
tically a  fixture  on  the  estate,  and  goes  with  it  to  a  new  purchaser, 
who  is  expected  to  take  over  the  debts.  The  tenant  is  thus  in  the 
position  of  being  able  to  compel  the  landlord  to  support  him, 
whether  he  be  a  profitable  occupant  of  the  land  or  not.  As  the 
landlord  has  in  addition  to  supply  grazing  for  ten  animals  for  each 
tenant,  the  advantages  would  seem  to  be  on  the  side  of  the  latter  ; 
yet  very  few  of  the  rayahs,  or  tenants,  are  well-off. 

The  taxes  in  Turkey  are  of  several  kinds.  First,  is  the  tithe,  or 
tax  of  one-tenth  on  all  the  agricultural  produce  of  the  country. 
The  collection  of  the  tithes  is  farmed  out,  or  sold  annually  to  the 
highest  bidder.  The  first  purchaser  of  the  privilege  will  often  sell 
his  right  to  others  at  a  profit,  and  they  may  sell  again  at  a  profit. 
The  Government  receives  comparatively  little  revenue  from  this 
source,  while  the  farmers  of  the  tithes  are  enriched.  The  amount 
of  the  tithes  is  not  oppressive,  but  the  people  deem  it  a  grievance 
that  worthless  speculators  should  thrive  so  well  at  their  expense 
with  so  little  profit  to  the  country.  They  are,  moreover,  subjected 
to  inconveniences  and  delays  and  hinderances  growing  out  of  the 
method  in  which  the  tithes  are  collected,  by  means  of  which  they 
are  likely  to  suffer  considerable  losses.  The  Verghi,  which  is 
known  by  different  names  in  different  districts,  is  fixed  at  a  certain 
amount  for  every  province,  and  is  imposed  in  various  forms,  some- 
times as  a  property-tax,  sometimes  as  an  income-tax,  sometimes  as  a 
house  or  a  capitation-tax.  The  Bedel  is  a  tax  paid  by  non-Mussul- 
man subjects  of  the  Porte  in  consideration  of  their  exemption  from 
military  service.  The  principle  on  which  it  is  levied  is  not  uniform, 
but  generally  has  some  reference  to  the  population  of  the  district. 
The  Sayme  and  another  tax  paid  in  butter  and  cheese  are  assessed 
upon  goats,  sheep,  cattle,  and  swine. 

The  customs  duties  are  levied  in  accordance  with  a  tariff  on  cer- 
tain articles  of  merchandise,  and  include,  in  all  cases,  an  additional 
charge  of  eight  per  cent,  on  imports  and  one  of  one  per  cent,  on 
exports.  A  duty  of  eight  per  cent,  was  formerly  levied  on  articles 


CONDITION  OF  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE.  j  jy 

of  native  produce  .passing  from  one  port  of  the  country  to  another, 
but  it  has  been  abolished. 

The  Turkish  army  is  recruited  by  conscription,  for  which  until 
recently  only  Mohammedans  were  liable,  Christians  having  been 
admitted  to  the  army  only  since  1876.  The  whole,  even  of  the  Mo- 
hammedan population,  is,  however,  not  available  for  ordinary  serv- 
ice. About  a  million,  constituting  the  population  of  Constantino- 
ple and  other  cities,  escape  on  one  ground  of  privilege  or  another  ; 
about  three  millions,  constituting  the  no  mad  tribes,  are  not  amenable 
to  conscription  ;  the  Mussulmans  in  Crete  can  not  be  spared  from  the 
island  for  fear  of  risings  of  the  Greeks.  It  is  estimated  that  by 
reason  of  the  various  exemptions,  about  one-third  of  the  Mohamme- 
dans escape  the  conscription,  leaving  only  about  twelve  millions  as  the 
total  population  from  whom  the  draft  must  be  made.  The  military 
forces  are  divided  into  three  classes  of  troops,  called  the  active  army 
or  Nizam,  the  reserve  or  Redif,  and  the  sedentary  army  or  Musta- 
phiz.  Soldiers  in  the  active  army,  after  four  years  of  service,  may 
return  to  their  homes  and  are  free  to  marry,  but  are  still  liable  to  be 
called  to  their  regiments  for  two  years'  longer  service.  After  six 
years  they  pass  to  the  reserve,  where  they  serve  three  years  in  the 
first  ban,  and  three  years  in  the  second  ban.  The  soldiers  of  the  re- 
serve are  called  out  to  drill  for  one  month  in  every  year.  After 
twelve  years  of  service  in  the  active  army  and  the  reserve,  the  sol- 
dier passes  to  the  sedentary  army,  where  he  is  enrolled  for  eight 
years  longer,  but  is  called  out  only  in  case  of  war.  According  to  the 
estimates  of  1876,  the  active  army,  or  Nizam,  consisted  of  210,000  men, 
of  whom  150,000  were  in  actual  service  and  60,000  were  furloughed ; 
the  reserve,  or  E-edif,  of  192,000  men,  of  whom  half  were  in  the 
first  and  half  in  the  second  ban ;  and  the  sedentary  army,  of  about 
300,000  men,  giving  in  all  a  force  of  702,000  men.  The  actual 
available  force  of  the  Empire  was,  however,  probably  not  more  than 
about  460,000  men.  For  the  purposes  of  the  reserve  force,  the 
military  population  are  divided  into  one  hundred  and  twenty  bat- 
talion districts,  in  each  of  which  a  battalion  of  each  ban  is  organized, 
giving  in  all  two  hundred  and  forty  battalions.  Soldiers  drafted  in- 
to the  active  army  may  be  relieved  by  payment  of  a  commutation. 
The  active  army  is  organized,  including  the  corps  of  Yemen,  in 
Arabia,  into  seven  corps,  into  which  the  additional  forces  from  the 
reserve  are  embodied  when  they  are  drawn  upon. 


118  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

In  addition  to  its  regular  forces,  the  Government  has  organized 
irregular  troops,  called  Bashi-Bazouks,  contingents  from  the  Circas- 
sians settled  in  Turkey,  and  Tartars  from  the  Crimea,  Spahi-squad- 
roiis,  Kurds,  and  Bedouins,  all  of  which  are  under  the  loosest 
discipline.  The  Bashi-Bazouks  are  recruited  principally  in  the 
Asiatic  and  African  provinces.  In  times  of  war  they  form  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  effective  force,  being  attracted  to  the  army  by 
the  prospect  of  booty.  In  the  last  war  with  Russia  they  numbered 
8,000  foot  and  16,000  horse.  Having  110  settled  home,  they  are 
genuine  vagabonds.  The  conspicuous  part  which  they  have  played 
in  the  present  war,  justifies  the  insertion  of  the  following  descrip- 
tion of  them  by  one  of  the  correspondents  from  the  seat  of  war : 
"  The  Bashi-Bazouk  is  commonly  ill-mounted ;  very  few  of  them, 
except  recruits  from  Syria,  riding  horses  that  show  any  trace  of  blood. 
Their  horses  are  always  kept  bridled,  even  when  eating  their  food. 
The  saddles  are  of  one  pattern,  but  the  bridles  are  as  various  as  their 
owners'  tastes.  Some  riders  prefer  halters.  The  men  are  from  all 
parts  of  the  Turkish  Empire — Kurds,  Albanians,  and  Arnauts  pre- 
dominating among  them.  Their  clothing  may  be  rich  or  may  be  rags. 
It  may  be  also  of  shades  of  dinginess,  or  every  variety  of  vivid 
colors.  An  enormous  shawl  or  girdle  around  the  waist  is  universal. 
They  have  the  merited  reputation  of  being  the  greatest  pillagers  in 
the  world,  and  this  girdle  is  the  hiding-place  and  receptacle  of  their 
booty.  Their  bodies  have  sometimes  been  found  with  gold  to  the 
value  of  a  thousand  or  eighteen  hundred  dollars  hidden  in  its  folds. 
They  are  not  hard  to  discipline  as  to  military  maneuvers,  but  they 
baffle  every  attempt  to  put  any  restraint  upon  them  after  they  break 
ranks.  During  the  Crimean  war  no  punishment  would  keep  them 
from  insulting,  striking,  and  wantonly  bayoneting  English  soldiers 
whom  they  met  in  public  places.  Their  bitterest  hatred  is  for  Rus- 
sians ;  their  sweetest  hope  the  plunder  of  Moscow.  Their  officers 
can  animate  them  to  fury  with  that  word,  which  is  received  by 
shouts  (with  their  hands  upon  the  pistols  in  their  belts),  of  the  Arab 
word  for  "  Let  us  hope  it — Inshallah  !  "  Their  arms  are  rude  and 
various.  They  depend  upon  the  Government  they  serve  for  a  dis- 
tribution of  lances  and  carbines,  but  every  man  carries  his  own  yat- 
taghan,  and  has  two,  three,  or  four  enormous  pistols." 

The  Spahis,  though  likewise  free  and  irregular,  form  a  more  re- 
spectable order,  and  consider  them  selves  a  kind  of  aristocracy  among 
the  troops  of  this  class.  They  are  mostly  recruited  from  the  older 


CONDITION  OF  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE.  ng 

Mohammedan  families  of  Bosnia,  Turkish  Croatia,  and  Bulgaria. 
They  have  a  picturesque  appearance,  but  will  not  submit  to  dis- 
cipline, nor  are  they  fit  to  operate  in  a  regular  campaign  against 
a  disciplined  army.  They  are  employed  chiefly  in  guerrilla  service 
in  the  mountain  districts,  or  anywhere  that  personal  daring  is  of 
more  value  than  subjection  to  rule  and  the  command  of  an  officer. 

The  Bedouins  and  Kurds  are  free  at  home,  acknowledging  only  a 
nominal  allegiance  to  the  Empire,  and  a  close  allegiance  only  to  their 
own  chiefs.  They  are  likewise  free  in  the  army ;  contented  to  stay 
so  long  as  they  are  allowed  to  fight  and  plunder  without  restraint, 
but  ready  to  fold  their  tents  and  march  away  whenever  any  attempt 
is  made  to  exercise  discipline  over  them. 

The  Turkish  navy  consisted,  at  the  end  of  1875,  of  twenty  iron- 
clad ships  and  seventy  other  steamers,  with  four  steam  transports. 
Three  of  the  iron-clads  were  considered  vessels  of  extraordinary  size 
and  strength.  The  navy  is  manned  by  thirty  thousand  soldiers  and 
four  thousand  marines,  recruited  by  conscription  or  voluntary  enlist- 
ment, who  serve  for  eight  years. 

The  Sultan  has  the  right  to  call  upon  Egypt  and  Tunis  for  con- 
tingents of  troops.  The  Egyptian  army  consists  of  about  twenty 
thousand  men  of  various  branches  of  the  service,  and  the  navy  of 
two  frigates,  two  corvettes,  three  large  yachts,  and  four  gun-boats. 
The  army  of  Tunis  consists  of  4,600  regular  and  11,500  irregular 
troops,  and  its  navy  of  three  small  armed  vessels,  one  transport,  and 
two  monitors  in  course  of  construction. 

The  financial  condition  of  Turkey  is  really  desperate.  For  nearly 
thirty  years  the  expenditures  of  the  Government  have  exceeded  the 
revenues  by  between  thirty-five  and  forty  millions  of  dollars.  Loan 
after  loan  has  been  borrowed,  defaults  have  been  made  in  payment 
of  interest,  and  the  credit  of  the  Government  is  at  the  lowest  stage. 
The  foreign  debt  is  represented  by  fourteen  loans,  contracted  be- 
tween 1854  and  1874,  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  184,981,783 
pounds  sterling,  and  the  internal  and  floating  debt  is  variously  esti- 
mated at  from  nine  million  to  thirty  million  pounds  sterling,  or  five 
times  as  many  dollars.  The  Turkish  Government  in  effect  an- 
nounced its  bankruptcy  in  October,  1875,  when  it  gave  notice  that 
the  payments  of  interest  upon  the  debt  would  be  reduced  for  five 
years  to  one-half  the  stipulated  amount.  It  confessed  in  the  decree 
which  conveyed  this  notice  that  it  had  been  in  the  habit  of  making 
new  loans  to  pay  the  coupons  on  the  old  ones,  but  could  do  this  no 


120  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

longer.  It  had,  therefore,  to  make  a  temporary  reduction  of  inter- 
est, on  the  plan  of  paying  "one-half  wholly  in  cash,  and  providing  for 
the  other  half  by  the  issue  of  fresh  securities  bearing  five  per  cent, 
interest,  payable  simultaneously  with  the  cash  half  of  the  original 
coupon  falling  due.  If  at  the  expiration  of  five  years  the  bonds 
representing  the  second  half  of  the  coupons  should  not  have  been 
redeemed,  the  payment  of  them  would  be  further  delayed  until  the 
foreign  loan  following  next  in  order  for  redemption  should  be  ex- 
tinguished. Default  was  made  in  the  payment  of  the  cash  interest 
promised  under  this  arrangement,  and  a  further  announcement  was 
made  in  July,  1876,  that  no  payments  would  be  made  until  the  in- 
ternal affairs  of  the  Empire  had  been  settled.  The  Government 
was  out  of  money,  and,  of  course,  could  not  borrow.  It  provided 
for  its  wants  by  an  issue  of  paper  money.  The  first  issue  was  fixed 
at  three  million  Turkish  pounds,  but  in  four  months  more  than 
twice  that  amount  had  been  put  into  circulation. 

The  character  and  bearing  of  the  views  of  the  Turkish  leaders  of 
opinion  have  undergone  considerable  modifications'  within  the  pres- 
ent century.  The  Turks  of  the  old  school,  bigoted,  fixedly  attached 
to  the  old  ways,  and  who  would  tolerate  no  change  whatever,  dis- 
appeared as  a  force  in  the  State  when  the  Janizaries  Were  abolished 
in  1826.  A  few  of  this  stamp  remain,  but  not  enough  to  form  a 
party.  The  change  in  the  conditions  of  the  Empire  and  in  its  rela- 
tions to  other  States  have  brought  a  new  class  of  men  to  the  front, 
who  seek  to  meet  the  emergencies  of  the  times  with  new  views  and 
new  ways  of  management.  They  are  still,  however,  steadily  at- 
tached to  the  past,  and  still  seek  to  adhere  to  the  old  traditions  and 
usages,  only  consenting  to  change  or  adapt  them  so  much  as  may  be 
necessary  for  the  preservation  of  the  State  in  its  integrity  and  inde- 
pendence. The  prominent  Turks  of  the  present  day  are  classified 
into  two  parties,  called  respectively  the  Old  Turks  and  the  Young 
Turks.  The  Old  Turkish  party  seeks  to  restore  as  much  as  is  possi- 
ble of  the  old  patriarchal  condition  of -the  East,  and  to  maintain  it 
with  all  the  means  at  command.  Among  its  objects  it  seeks  te  pre- 
serve the  ancient  usages  and  regulations  with  reference  to  women, 
and  has  so  far  succeeded  in  preventing  any  alterations  in  them.  It 
insists  especially  on  avoiding  all  entanglements  with  foreigners,  even 
to  the  extent  of  setting  limitations  upon  the  trade  with  foreign  coun- 
tries. With  this  object — and  on  this  point  it  has  shown  considerable 
worldly  wisdom — it  advocates  and  supports  those  measures,  which  will 


BASHI-BAZOUKS. 


KURDS. 


CONDITION  OF  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE.  ^3 

content  the  Christian  populations  ;  for  it  has  been  learned  by  expe- 
rience that  every  oppression  of  the  Christians  leads  directly  to  a 
complication  with  some  one  or  other  of  the  European  powers.  One 
of  the  most  prominent  members  of  the  Old  Turkish  party  was  the 
late  Grand  Vizier,  AH  Pasha,  who  was  dispatched  to  Crete  at  the 
time  of  the  insurrection  there  in  1867,  and  addressed  a  memorandum 
to  the  Porte  recommending  reforms,  which  is  pointed  to  as  contain- 
ing one  of  the  best  expositions  of  the  principles  of  his  party.  In 
this  paper  he  showed  that  the  principles  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris, 
which  were  supposed  to  have  prevented  all  danger  of  foreign  inter- 
ference in  the  affairs  of  the  Empire,  had  ceased  to  be  effective  and 
could  no  longer  protect  it.  A  new  doctrine  of  government  had  been 
set  up  and  acted  upon,  which  recognized  the  rights  of  peoples  to  be 
arranged  under  governments  according  to  their  race  and  national 
affinities,  which  would  be  used  to  the  disadvantage  of  Turkey  and 
for  the  advancement  of  the  designs  of  Russia. 

The  Russian  Government  had  not  given  up  its  designs  upon  the 
East ;  it  would  not  now  carry  them  out  by  war,  for  it  had  found  a 
better  way  ;  it  would  excite  discontent  among  the  Christian  popula- 
tion of  the  principalities,  and  while  assuring  the  other  powers  that 
it  was  seeking  to  promote  the  welfare  of  its  fellow-Christians,  would 
seek  to  dismember  Turkey  by  the  operation  of  internal  dissension. 
If  such  a  condition  as  the  one  which  then  prevailed  in  Crete  were 
produced,  and  continued,  the  powers  would  sympathize  with  the 
professions  of  Russia,  while  Turkey  would  be  entirely  isolated,  and 
would  be  compelled  "  to  hold  those  persons  who  are  most  necessary 
and  most  useful  for  the  reproduction  and  agriculture  of  the  nation 
under  arms,  and  to  appropriate  its  entire  income  to  this  object,  so 
that  not  a  penny  would  be  left  us  for  the  culture  of  the  land,  nor  a 
minute  for  working  out  good  laws  for  the  weal  of  the  State  and  the 
nation ;  and  thus  our  enemy  would  hasten  the  attainment  of  his  de- 
structive purpose;  for  it  is  evident  that  the  Mohammedan  popu- 
lation, which  alone  furnishes  troops,  could  not  long  endure  this, 
condition  ;  that  the  treasury  could  quite  as  little  bear  to  have  all  its 
income  turned  to  unproductive  ends,  and  that  the  host  of  ten  mil- 
lions of  subjects,  who  heartily  desired  to  rise  and  be  free,  would  not 
remain  long  in  obedience  and  subjection." 

A  remedy  for  these  difficulties  and  dangers  could  be  found  if  the 
Government  would  grant  to  its  non-Mohammedan  subjects  an  en- 
largement of  their  opportunities   for   culture,  of  their  spherej  of 
7 


124  THE  WAR  IN  THE 

action,  and  of  their  privileges,  so  that  they  could  find  at  home  what 
they  now  had  to  seek  abroad,  and  that  they  should  "  not  see  any- 
thing to  envy  in  the  situation  of  the  subjects  of  foreign  States,  and 
should  learn  to  regard  themselves  no  longer  as  subjugated  by  an 
Ismaelitish  State,  but  as  servants  and  subjects  of  a  superior  mon- 
archy, which  protected  all  alike."  Three  specific  measures  were 
proposed  as  likely  to  produce  this  result  directly ;  that  all  the 
offices  and  public  positions  in  the  State  be  thrown  open  to  all  alike, 
so  that  Christians  should  find  all  the  bars  to  promotion  removed 
from  before  them  ;  that  schools  be  established  and  thoroughly  organ- 
ized, in  which  the  children  of  Mohammedans  and  Christians  should 
be  instructed  together,  and  Greeks  should  no  longer  have  to  send 
their  children  to  Greece,  and  Bulgarians  to  Russia,  to  learn  princi- 
ples of  hostility  to  the  Ottoman  Empire;  and  that  mixed  civil 
courts  be  established,  with  a  code  for  the  trial  of  all  mixed  suits. 
"  In  fine,"  said  this  remarkable  memorandum,  "  the  fusion  of  all 
our  subjects,  except  as  to  purely  religious  affairs,  is  the  only  means 
by  which  we  can  overcome  the  jealousy  between  our  different 
populations  and  avoid  the  dangers  that  threaten  us." 

The  representatives  of  the  Old  Turkish  party  are,  with  few  ex- 
ceptions, men  of  high  character  and  standing.  The  "  Young  Turk- 
ish "  party  is  composed  of  young  men  who  have  been  educated 
abroad  or  under  European  teachers,  and  have  cast  off  the  religious 
prejudices  and  authority  of  their  fathers,  and  who  have  acquired 
enough  of  the  superficialities  of  French  culture  to  unsettle  them  in 
their  old  principles  without  their  having  imbibed  any  of  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  European  knowledge  and  life.  The  serious 
idea  on  which  the  party  rests  is  that  the  prosperity  of  the  Empire 
and  the  operation  of  the  measures  which  are  necessary  to  restore  it 
to  a  sound  condition  are  hindered  by  the  too  rigorous  traditional 
constructions  which  are  placed  upon  the  religious  law,  and  it  has 
sought  to  obtain  from  the  doctors  authoritative  determinations  and 
modifications  of  the  law  better  adapted  to  the  present  exigencies. 
Some  of  the  Young  Turks  have  regarded  the  reigning  dynasty  as  an 
insurmountable  barrier  to  the  regeneration  of  the  Empire.  The 
party  arose  about  twelve  or  fifteen  years  ago,  in  an  opposition  to  the 
administration  of  Ali  Pasha,  at  a  period  when  the  Government  was 
contracting  large  loans  and  spending  extravagantly,  and  after  the 
hopes  which  had  been  awakened  upon  the  accession  of  Abdul  Med- 
jid  had  been  dispelled.  The  increasing  number  of  appointments 


CONDITION  OF  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE.  125 

of  Christians  to  offices  in  the  service  of  the  State  especially  excited 
its  animadversion,  and  gave  occasion  to  the  publication,  in  the 
journals  which  were  started  in  Young  Turkish  interests,  of  numer- 
ous articles  breathing  the  most  intense  hostility  to  the  Christians 
and  sounding  the  praises  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  its  power  and  its 
glories.  Equally  with  the  "  Old  Turks,"  the  "  Young  Turks"  shun 
entanglements  with  Europe,  and  seek  to  prevent  the  introduction  of 
European  notions  ;  but  they  go  about  their  work  in  a  different  man- 
ner and  with  a  different  spirit. 

The  party  has  never  been  very  numerous,  and  its  life  has  been 
rather  social  than  political,  its  political  objects  only  occasionally  rising 
to  the  surface.  Its  representative  men  are  described  as  being 
polished  and  prepossessing  in  their  manners  and  appearance,  but 
many  of  them  crafty,  untrustworthy,  and  without  the  sense  of  per- 
sonal honor  or  principle.  The  leaders  have  once  or  twice  come 
under  the  displeasure  of  the  Government  for  excess  in  their  mani- 
festations, and  have  been  subjected  to  voluntary  or  involuntary 
exile.  All  of  them  who  were  under  punishment  were  pardoned  by 
Abdul  Hamid,  and  allowed  to  return  to  the  capital,  where,  all  the 
political  questions  about  which  they  had  contended  having  been 
settled,  it  was  thought  they  would  not  be  likely  to  do  harm,  but 
might  be  of  service  in  exciting  the  fanaticism  of  the  people  against 
the  foreign  enemy.  Both  parties  participated  in  the  deposition  of 
the  Sultan  Abdul  Aziz.  Of  the  leaders  in  that  movement,  Midhat 
Pasha  and  Zia  Bey  were  ranked  as  Young  Turks.  Hussein  Avni 
Pasha  and  Mehemet  Kushdi  Pasha  as  Old  Turks.  The  principal 
advisers  of  the  Sultan  Murad  were  Young  Turks,  and  to  them  is 
due  the  promulgation  of  the  Constitution  of  Midhat  Pasha.  The 
Government  which  succeeded  that  of  Midhat  Pasha  was  under  Old 
Turkish  influences.  The  most  prominent  upholders  of  the  consti- 
tutional principle  in  Midhat  Pasha's  cabinet  were  sent  away  after  its 
accession,  one  to  be  Governor  of  Syria,  one  to  retirement,  one  to 
prison,  and  Midhat  himself  to  exile. 

The  Turks  in  Europe  are  of  a  mixed  race,  and  present  a  variety  of 
physical  traits  according  to  the  nationality  whose  blood  they  share, 
hardly  any  of  which  can  be  considered  distinctive.  Generally  they  are 
characterized  by  a  strange  expression  of  the  eyes,  lankness  of  the 
limbs,  and  in  the  cities  by  colorlessness  of  the  skin.  The  Asiatic 
Turks  have  well-shapen  heads,  black  or  brown  hair,  fine  forms,  and 
a  calm,  placid  expression  of  countenance.  Both  Asiatics  and  Euro- 


126  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

peans  are  eminently  pious,  and  observe  strictly  all  the  requisitions  of 
the  Mohammedan  ritual  with  regard  to  worship,  prayer,  fasts,  alms, 
and  other  acts  of  ceremonial  and  worship.  They  set  a  high  value  upon 
the  privilege  of  pilgrimage,  and  hold  the  Koran  in  such  respect  as 
to  ascribe  the  working  of  wonders  to  the  mere  reading  of  it.  Their 
other  characteristics  will  be  revealed  in  the  course  of  our  history. 

The  style  of  dress  in  Turkey  has  been  greatly  modified  by  the 
adoption  of  European  fashions.  The  old  Turkish  turban  was  a 
woolen  cloth  wound  around  the  fez,  and  was  worn  green  by  Moham- 
medans, black  or  blue  by  Christians  and  Jews.  The  cloth  is  now 
dispensed  with,  and  the  fez  is  generally  worn  alone.  The  trousers 
were  distinguished  by  their  excessive  fullness.  The  upper  part  of 
the  body  was  dressed  in  a  vest  or  jacket  called  the  Anteri,  and  the 
Dolman,  or  Chekman,  with  pendant,  slitten  sleeves,  which  was  gen- 
erally red  and  embroidered  with  braidings  of  golden  yellow  silk. 
Over  all  was  worn  the  Benish,  or  cloth  coat.  In  the  harem  the 
Turk  wore  a  dressing-gown  with  a  long  robe  (the  Rusk)  over  it, 
with  socks  and  morocco  shoes,  or  half  boots.  In  modern  times, 
the  Turks  in  the  higher  ranks  around  Constantinople  will  be 
found  dressed  in  a  correct  European  costume,  except  that  they  ad- 
here to  the  picturesque  and  pleasant  fez,  instead  of  adopting  the 
European  tall  hat.  The  women  wear  a  red  or  yellow  shirt,  reach- 
ing to  the  knees,  under  which  are  worn  full  and  gathered  trou- 
sers, a  long  overdress  which  is  gathered  at  the  waist  by  a  shawl, 
woolen  hose  and  slippers.  On  their  heads  they  wear  a  fez  or  little 
cap,  and  on  the  street  a  white  cloth,  the  Yashmak,  which  covering 
the  head  leaves  the  eyes  free ;  further,  the  whole  face  is  concealed 
by  an  ugly  mantle  called  the  Fereye. 

Turkish  houses  present  a  blank  wall  to  the  street,  with  no  window 
or  other  opening  except  the  entrance- way.  This  leads  to  a  court- 
yard, which  is  really  the  front  of  the  house.  The  rooms  are  built 
around  it,  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave  the  women's  quarters  in  a  seclud- 
ed position  and  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  house.  The  court-yard 
is  beautified,  and  the  house  furnished  with  comforts  and  luxuries 
according  to  the  means  of  the  owner ;  there  may  be  none,  or  they 
may  be — as  they  generally  are  with  wealthy  Turks — in  excess.  The 
street  appearance  of  the  house  gives  no  clue  to  what  is  inside  of  it. 
The  roughest  and  most  forbidding  mud  wall  in  appearance  may  be 
the  shell  of  a  palace,  exhibiting  the  highest  degree  of  splendor  in- 
side, or  the  interior  may  be  nearly  as  rude  and  meagre  as  the  outside. 


CHAPTEE  VI. 

THE   TRIBUTARY   STATES   AND   THE   SUBJECT   PEOPLES   OF   TURKEY. 

Rumania — Union  of  the  Principalities  of  Moldavia  and  Wallachia  into  one  State— Edu- 
cation, Literature,  Army,  and  Finances — Characteristics  of  the  People,  their  Dress 
and  Manner  of  Living — Servia — Its  History  and  Present  Condition — The  Omladina — 
The  Servian  Church — Dress,  Customs,  and  Domestic  Usages — Bosnia  and  Herzego- 
vina— The  Bulgarians — They  Regain  the  Autonomy  of  their  National  Church — Prog- 
ress of  Education — Circassian  Colonies  in  Bulgaria — Montenegro — Sketch  of  its 
History— The  Albanians— The  Miridites— The  Greeks  of  Turkey— The  Districts  in 
which  they  Predominate — Their  Control  of  Turkish  Commerce — Greeks  in  Asia 
Minor — Crete — The  Armenians — Maronites — Druses — Egypt — Its  Advance  toward 
Independence — The  Suez  Canal  and  other  Works  of  Improvement — Tripoli  and 
Tunis. 

THE  European  tributary  States  of  Turkey  at  the  beginning  of 
18TT  were  Rumania  and  Servia.  The  principality  of  Rumania  is 
composed  of  the  former  provinces  or  principalities  of  Moldavia  and 
Wallachia.  It  has  an  area  of  45,642  square  miles,  and  a  population 
of  3,864,848.  The  principality  lies  entirely  north  of  the  Danube, 
and  presents  an  irregular  figure,  whose  shape  may  be  compared  to 
that  of  a  piece  of  a  quarter  of  an  apple  with  the  core  taken  out. 
The  sharp  curve  of  the  Carpathian  Mountains  and  Transylvanian 
Highlands  entering  from  the  north  and  west  to  the  center  of  the 
figure  the  State  would  present  were  its  shape  symmetrical,  may 
represent  the  line  formed  by  cutting  out  the  core.  Wallachia,  the 
southern  province  of  the  principality,  lies  between  the  Danube  and 
the  Transylvanian  Highlands,  touching  Servia  on  the  west,  and  pre- 
sents its  greatest  length  from  east  to  west.  Moldavia,  lying  between 
the  Carpathians  and  the  river  Pruth,  presents  its  greatest  length  from 
north  to  south,  touching  on  the  north  the  country  which  was  once 
Poland.  A  narrow  strip  of  country,  extending  north  and  east  from 
the  Danube  and  Pruth,  gives  the  principality  a  small  frontage  on  the 
Black  Sea.  The  mountains  on  the  north  and  west  separate  Rumania 
from  Austria-Hungary,  and  the  Pruth  separates  it  from  Russia,  but 
neither  mountains  nor  river  separate  Rumanians  from  Rumanians ; 
for  a  large  proportion  of  the  population  in  Austrian  Transylvania 
and  Bukowina,  and  Russian  Bessarabia  are  of  this  stock. 

(x*7) 


128  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  predominant  race  are  commonly  called 
Wallachs,  or  more  recently  Rumanians.  They  are  a  mixed  people, 
combining  the  blood  of  the  ancient  Dacians,  a  branch  of  the  Thra- 
cian  stock,  with  that  of  the  Roman  colonists,  who  were  settled  in 
the  province  of  Dacia  after  its  conquest  by  Trajan,  mingled  with 
that  of  the  various  races  and  tribes  which  have  overrun  the  country 
from  the  days  of  the  Roman  dominion  down  to  the  present  time. 
By  the  treaties  of  Adrianople  and  Paris,  the  two  principalities  of 
Moldavia  and  Wallachia,  commonly  called  the  Danubian  principali- 
ties, acquired  a  condition  of  semi-independence,  by  which  they 
gained  control  of  their  own  internal  administrations,  while  they  paid 
a  tribute  to  Turkey.  In  1859,  they  effected  a  substantial  union  by 
choosing  the  same  person  as  Hospodar,  or  Prince. 

The  union  has  been  gradually  made  closer,  and  has  been  recog- 
nized by  the  Great  Powers  and  by  Turkey.  The  government  of 
the  principality  is  a  constitutional  monarchy,  with  representative 
chambers  and  a  responsible  ministry.  The  present  prince  is  Charles 
of  Hohenzollerii-Sigmaringen,  who  has  assumed  the  title  of  Charles 
I.  The  people  speak  a  language  more  like  the  Latin  than  any 
other  modern  tongue,  and  have  some  physical  and  mental  character- 
istics which  they  may  have  derived  from  the  ancient  Romans,  along 
with  the  language  and  name  of  that  people.  They  are  generally 
attached  to  the  Greek  Church,  and  are  farmers,  practicing  the 
rudest  methods  in  agriculture.  Education  is  in  a  low  state.  A 
compulsory  school  law  exists,  but  the  schools  are  few  and  thinly 
attended.  In  18T5  there  were  four  thousand  teachers  and  fifty-five 
thousand  pupils  in  all  the  schools,  and  the  higher  education  was 
represented  by  twenty-two  high-schools  of  different  grades,  a  larger 
number  of  theological,  technical,  and  private  schools,  and  the  two 
Universities  of  Bucharest  and  Jassy.  The  Wallachs  have  a  small 
literature,  the  oldest  specimen  of  which  is  a  historical  fragment  of 
the  date  of  1495.  The  following  century  produced  some  theological 
literature,  but  the  Bible  was  not  translated  into  their  language  till 
1643.  Recently  a  number  of  learned  and  poetical  works  have  been 
produced,  some  of  the  latter  of  which  have  been  considerably  ad- 
mired. Political  discussions  have  been  active  during  the  present 
century,  leading  to  the  establishment  of  several  newspapers,  and 
the  production  of  minor  works  of  a  political  character.  The  prin- 
cipality has  a  number  of  contemporary  poets  and  writers  of  ro- 
mances, who,  however,  have  not  commanded  any  great  fame  abroad. 


TURKEY'S  TRIBUTARY  STATES  AND  SUBJECTS.      129 

The  Rumanian  army  consists  of  22,463  infantry  and  12,184  cavalry. 
The  revenues  of  the  principality  in  1876  were  97,894,4-27  francs,  its 
expenditures  were  97,891,427  francs,  and  its  debt  on  Jan.  1,  187T, 
was  515,841,278  francs,  or  about  one  hundred  million  dollars. 

The  typical  Rumanian  is  a  man  of  slender  stature  and  symmetri- 
cal shape,  and  has  a  brown  oval  face,  not  unhandsome,  and  often 
with  noble  features.  His  eyes  are  dark  and  expressive.  His 
mouth  is  well  cut,  filled  with  showy  white  teeth,  and  shaded  with 
a  mustache.  The  full  beard  is  seldom  worn,  being  in  this,  as  in  the 
other  principalities,  peculiar  to  the  priests.  The  man  takes  much 
pride  in  his  long  hair,  hanging  down  over  his  shoulders.  The 
hands  and  feet  are  small  and  neatly  formed.  The  women  are  quite 
handsome. 

K.  E.  Fraiizos  says  of  them  in  his  "  Half  Asia"  *:  "  The  Ruma- 
nian girl  reaches  her  full  bodily  development  in  her  thirteenth  or 
fourteenth,  at  most  in  her  fifteenth  year ;  and  she  presents  often 
a  handsome,  elegant  figure.  The  Roman  type,  although  partly 
obliterated  by  marriages  with  the  Slavs,  is  manifested  in  the  well- 
developed  nose,  in  the  fine  and  sharply-defined  mouth,  in  the  black, 
shining  hair,  in  the  peculiar,  but  not  unpleasant,  bronze  tint  of  the 
countenance.  If  you  observe  her  in  her  gala-dress,  with  her 
chemisette  of  linen,  adorned  with  artistic  embroidery,  with  the 
national  frock  cut  out  of  a  single  piece,  which,  fastened  by  a  girdle 
at  her  waist,  swells  over  her  hips  in  thick  folds,  and  falls  to  her 
ankles,  with  the  light,  tunic-like,  generally  blue  mantle;  if  you 
listen  to  her  conversation,  which  will  remind  you  in  almost  every 
word  of  the  speech  of  ancient  Rome  —it  will  not  require  the  exer- 
cise of  much  imagination  to  think  that  you  are  in  the  presence  of  a 
Roman  peasant-girl  of  the  time  of  Cicero." 

The  men  wear  over  linen  •  breeches,  a  white,  wide-sleeved  shirt, 
open  at  the  breast,  and  falling  nearly  to  the  knees.  It  is  confined 
at  the  waist  by  a  broad  leathern  band,  in  which  are  worn  the  knife, 
pipe,  flint  and  steel,  tobacco-pouch  and  wallet.  Over  the  shoulders 
is  worn  a  jacket  of  sheepskin,  with  the  wool  outside  ;  a  longer  cloak, , 
also  of  sheepskin,  is  worn  in  many  places  in  the  winter.  Sandals, 
similar  to  those  of  the  Romans,  are  worn  on  the  feet  in  pleasant 
weather,  but  in  wet  weather  their  place  is  supplied  by  boots  reach- 
ing up  to  the  knee.  A  broad-brimmed  straw  hat  is  worn  on  the^ 
head  in  summer,  a  sheepskin  cap  in  winter.  On  festive  occasions,, 


*  "Halb  Asien,"  Leipsic,  1876. 


130 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


the  well-to-do  Wallach  completes  his  costume  by  a  doublet  fanci- 
fully embroidered,  which  lends  to  his  dress  a  decidedly  Romanesque 
appearance. 

The  houses  of  the  Wallachian  peasants  are  wooden  buildings, 
thatched  with  straw,  often  only  of  a  single  story,  but  where  there 
are  two  stories,  with  the  upper  story  surrounded  with  a  veranda. 
In  poorly-wooded  districts  the  dwellings  are  often  dug  out  of  the 
ground,  and  covered  with  an  earthen  roof.  In  the  regions  exposed 
to  the  overflow  of  the  Danube,  the  houses  often  consist  of  rude 
timber  huts,  placed  upon  four  stakes,  so  as  to  be  lifted  above  the 
reach  of  the  floods. 

The  aristocracy  of  Rumania  are  called  Boyars.  They  are  the 
modern  representatives  of  the  ancient  aristocracy  of  the  land,  and 
date,  according  to  one  authority,*  from  the  time  when  every  one 
who  bore  a  weapon  had  a  right  to  rank  himself  in  that  class.  The 
name  originated  among  the  descendants  of  the  Roman  colonists  in 
the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries,  when  the  warrior  who  went  into 
battle  with  a  scythe-chariot,  drawn  by  oxen,  was  designated  as  a 
bovis  herus,  or  Boyar,  the  same  as  those  who  went  with  horses 
were  called  cavalli  heri,  or  cavaliers.  Others  derive  the  title  from 
Bulgar,  Bulgarian.f  Among  the  original  privileges  of  a  Boyar  was 
exemption  from  taxes.  The  title  and  its  privileges  were  personal, 
and  did  not  descend.  At  a  later  period  the  title  was  given  to  the 
holders  of  certain  offices,  and  once  given  was  continued  for  life, 
even  though  the  term  of  official  service  were  but  one  year.  Under 
Turkish  rule  it  became  a  matter  of  sale.  Under  the  present  Gov- 
ernment it  is  given,  according  to  a  regular  system,  as  a  symbol  of 
rank  and  office.  The  Boyars  are  now  of  two  ranks,  the  great  and 
small  Boyars.  The  total  number  of  Boyar  families  of  both  ranks 
in  the  two  provinces  forming  the  principality  was  6,000  in  1865. 
The  Boyars  live  like  other  European  aristocracy,  so  far  as  their 
means  permit  them,  and  copy  French  fashions  and  French  manners 
to  such  an  extent  that  they  have  made  Jassy  and  Bucharest  "the 
city  of  pleasure,"  to  be  among  the  gayest  capitals  of  Europe. 

The  principality  of  Servia  is  the  relic  of  what  was  a  considerable 
State  in  the  middle  ages,  but  which  became  subject  to  the  Turks 
after  the  battle  of  Kosovo,  in  1389.  The  Servians  proved  to  be 
discontented  subjects,  and  gave  the  Turks  much  trouble.  They 


*  Hellwald  and  Beck— "Die  Heutige  Turkei,"  I.,  132. 
t  Frauzos,  AUgemelne  Zeitung,  Oct.  24,  25,  and  26, 1877. 


CHARLES    I.  — PRINCE    OF    RUMANIA. 


L 


MILAN -PRINCE    OK    SERV1A. 


TURKEY'S  TRIBUTARY  STATES  AND  SUBJECTS,      ^3 

gained  a  condition  of  semi-independence  in  1811,  and  have  retained 
it,  except  for  a  short  interval  during  the  wars  of  Napoleon,  to  the 
present  time.  The  maintenance  of  all  the  privileges  which  had  been 
gained  by  both  Servia  and  Rumania  was  guaranteed  by  the  great 
powers  in  the  Treaty  of  Paris  in  1856,  but  Turkey  retained  the  right 
to  keep  garrisons  in  certain  of  the  Servian  forts.  The  principality 
has  been  ruled  by  the  families  of  the  Karageorgevitch  and  Obreno- 
vitch,  between  whom  a  bitter  rivalry  exists.  The  present  ruler  is 
Prince  Milan  Obrenovitch  IV.,  who  was  enthroned  in  1868.  The  Gov- 
ernment is  a  constitutional  monarchy,  with  a  representative  chamber, 
called  the  Skupstchina,  and  a  responsible  ministry. 

Servia  has  an  area  of  about  16,600  square  miles,  and  a  population  of 
1,320,000.  It  has  made  great  advances  in  civilization  within  the  last 
ten  years,  particularly  in  the  building  of  roads  and  in  education. 
Until  1876  it  had  no  debt,  but  a  balance  in  the  treasury.  In  that 
year  it  borrowed  a  small  loan  to  enable  it  to  carry  on  the  war  against 
Turkey.  Its  standing  army  consists  of  four  thousand  men,  and  its  en- 
tire military  strength  is  rated  at  about  seventy  thousand  men.  Educa- 
tion is  provided  for  in  a  public  school  system,  under  the  control  of  the 
Minister  of  Education,  which  embraces  primary  schools,  academical 
and  collegiate  schools,  a  normal  school,  a  high-school  at  Belgrade,  and 
special  and  professional  schools.  The  Servians  have  a  literature  in 
which  they  take  pride.  Their  old  literature,  which  is  in  the  old 
Slavic  or  Church  language,  dates  back  to  the  eleventh  century,  and 
is  rich  in  songs  and  ballads.  Their  modern  literature  is  also  quite 
copious  and  creditable,  and  dates  from  the  eighteenth  century.  The 
secret  society  called  the  Omladina  was  originally  formed  for  the 
purpose  of  cultivating  the  national  literature,  but  it  has  been  con- 
verted into  a  political  organization,  and  is  the  most  steady  and  influ- 
ential promoter  of  the  agitations  for  securing  the  complete  independ- 
ence of  the  country. 

The  Greek  Church  is  established,  but  religious  freedom  prevails 
under  the  restriction  that  no  one  is  permitted  to  leave  the  Holy 
Orthodox  Church  to  join  another.  The  religious  and  spiritual  life 
is  wholly  under  the  influence  of  the  cloisters,  from  which  the  Metro- 
politan and  the  Bishops  are  appointed.  The  Archbishop  of  Bel- 
grade is  head  of  the  Church,  is  independent  of  the  Patriarch  of  Con- 
stantinople, and  has  under  him  the  three  bishops  of  Shabatz,  Ushitza, 
and  Negotin,  who  with  'him  constitute  the  National  Synod.  The 
clergy  consist  of  seven  hundred  worldly  priests,  and  one  hundred  and 


134  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

twenty  priests  in  the  cloisters.  The  number  of  cloisters  was  forty-one 
in  1875  ;  but  by  an  order  passed  in  that  year  they  are  to  be  reduced 
to  five. 

The  Servians  have  sharply-defined  faces  and  robust  bodies,  are 
rather  large  than  small  in  stature,  broad-shouldered,  but  seldom  gross. 
They  have  well-proportioned  heads,  with  rather  high  crowns,  well- 
shaped  foreheads,  somewhat  prominent  cheek-bones,  medium-sized 
noses,  which  are  generally  straight,  but  sometimes  repressed,  and 
are  very  often  finely  developed.  Their  hair  is  generally  blonde  or 
brown,  and  luxuriant  in  growth.  The  men  commonly  wear  their 
hair  cut  short,  long  hair  and  the  full-beard  being  left  to  the  priest- 
hood. The  people  in  the  cities  sometimes  wear  side- whiskers,  but 
the  peasant  wears  only  a  mustache.  The  ladies  in  the  towns  set  a 
high  value  on  black  hair,  and  are  not  loath  to  use  dyes  to  get  it. 

The  women  are  of  medium  size,  and  have  regular  features  without 
being  handsome,  although  very  fine,  faultless  faces  are  often  met 
with  in  the  cities.  The  women  are,  as  a  rule,  better-looking  than 
their  sisters  in  Montenegro,  but  the  men  lack  the  lightness  and  elas- 
ticity of  movement  which  characterize  the  warlike  mountaineers. 
The  dress  of  the  Servians  varies  greatly  in  different  districts,  and 
often  in  different  neighborhoods.  In  the  country,  garments  of  fold- 
ed white  linen,  a  colored  belt  and  brown  or  light- colored  woolen 
outside  coats,  are  worn  extensively  by  both  sexes.  The  Servian 
peasant  wears,  in  summer,  large  breeches  reaching  in  full  folds  to 
the  ankles,  over  which  is  a  woolen  shirt  open  at  the  breast,  and  held 
in  at  the  waist  by  a  red  cloth  belt.  Over  the  belt  he  wears  a  brown 
leathern  girdle,  in  which  he  carries  a  pistol  or  two,  a  brass  gun-stick, 
a  dagger  and  a  handkerchief,  and  a  cartridge-box.  On  his  right 
side  hang  a  short  knife  in  a  leather  sheath,  a  flint  and  steel,  and  an 
oil-box.  If  the  man  is  going  away  to  any  distance,  he  puts  on  a 
short,  striped  vest,  and  over  it  a  thick,  braided  woolen  jacket,  and 
completes  his  armor  by  adding  a  long  Albanian  flint-lock,  or  a  more 
modern  improved  gun,  if  he  has  one.  On  his  head  he  wears  a  low, 
red  fez,  with  or  without  a  tassel,  and  on  his  feet  dark,  knit  hose  and 
sandals  of  untanned  leather. 

In  Western  Servia,  the  peasants  commonly  wear  wide,  slit  breeches 
of  brown  cloth,  which  are  narrowed  like  gaiters  just  below  the  knees. 
In  the  south,  some  Albanian  fashions  are  adopted,  such  as  the  band- 
age of  white  cloth  around  the  fez,  the  short  brown  or  black  jacket, 
with  slitten  sleeves,  and  the  broad  red  cloak  for  rainy  weather.  The 


TURKEY'S  TRIBUTARY  STATES  AND  SUBJECTS.      135 

sheepskin  cap  of  the  Bulgarians  is  worn  in  the  south-east,  and  Ru- 
manian fashions  prevail  in  the  east. 

The  dress  of  the  merchants  and  official  people  in  the  cities,  when 
it  has  not  been  modified  by  European  styles,  is  very  rich.  The 
breeches  are  cut  in  the  Turkish  fashion,  of  blue  cloth,  and  embroi- 
dered with  black  braid.  The  red  vest  is  richly  braided  with  gold- 
thread, the  winter  coat  is  bordered  with  fur,  and  a  variously-striped 
shawl,  several  yards  in  length,  woven  of  yarn,  cashmere,  or  silk,  is 
worn  as  a  girdle.  The  arms  and  other  articles  of  dress  and  ornament 
are  enriched  in  a  corresponding  degree. 

The  principal  variations  in  the  costumes  of  the  women  are  in  the 
head-dresses.  Flowers,  pieces  of  gold  or  silver,  to  which  the  women 
of  the  cities  add  a  small  fez,  arranged  in  a  great  variety  of  ways, 
form  the  principal  parts  of  the  head-dresses  of  girls.  The  women 
wear  diadems,  helmets,  or  similar  designs,  which  are  trimmed  with 
metallic  pieces,  feathers,  or  other  ornaments,  and  are  crowned,  in  the 
cities,  with  a  fez  surrounded  with  a  switch  of  hair.  The  costume  of 
the  peasant  women  is  in  other  respects  very  simple.  The  most  im- 
portant article  is  the  shirt,  of  home-made  stuff,  reaching  from  the 
neck  to  the  ankles,  and  embroidered  with  wool  in  front  and  on  the 
arms  and  sleeves.  Two  striped  aprons,  worn  in  front  and  behind  a 
belt,  and  often  a  short  jacket  open  in  front,  with  the  shirt,  make  up 
the  home  dress.  The  overdress,  which  is  seldom  worn  in  the  house, . 
is  a  sleeveless  coat  of  white  cloth,  varied  with  stripes,  rosettes,  and 
other  designs.  The  feet  are  clothed  with  colored  stockings  and  san- 
dals. The  picturesqueness  of  the  costume  is  enhanced  not  only  by 
the  fanciful  head-dress,  but  also  by  the  many  other  ornaments  which 
women  know  how  to  use  with  effect. 

The  women  of  the  cities  combine  the  Oriental  and  "Western  fash- 
ions in  their  dress.  An  embroidered  shirt  and  neckerchief  cover  the 
bust,  and  are  revealed,  with  the  accompanying  nosegay  or  golden  pin, 
through  the  open  front  of  the  sack.  A  heavy  brocade  sash  is  thrown 
around  the  waist,  and  hangs  with  richly-ornamented  ends  in  front  of 
the  colored  silken  dress,  which  is  made  in  the  European  style.  An 
embroidered  pocket-handkerchief,  a  fan,  a  bouquet,  wide  bracelets, 
a  necklace  of  pearls  or  gold,  and  the  usual  rings,  complete  a  picture, 
whose  beauty  is,  however,  sadly  marred  by  the  senseless  fashion  of 
dyeing  the  hair  and  staining  the  eyebrows  and  lips. 

The  Servian  country-houses  are  structures  of  timber- work,  or  consist 
of  a  lower  story  of  stone  and  an  upper  story  of  wood,  surmounted 


I36  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST, 

often  with  a  very  high  roof  of  thatch  or  tiles.  They  are  rather 
scantily  furnished  in  the  interior,  where  the  weapons  of  the  head  of 
the  family  occupy  the  place  of  honor  among  the  household  ornaments. 
The  windows  are  seldom  furnished  with  glass,  but  paper  in  wooden 
frames  is  made  to  supply  its  place.  On  the  larger  estates  the  house 
of  the  head  of  the  family,  which  serves  also  as  the  dwelling  of  the 
unmarried  members  of  the  household,  is  surrounded  by  the  smaller 
houses  of  the  married  members.  These  consist  generally  only  of  a 
bed-room,  the  main  hall  affording  living-room  and  dining-room  for 
the  whole  family.  The  whole  group  of  buildings,  including  also  the 
granaries  of  basket-work  set  up  on  stakes,  is  surrounded  by  a  fence 
of  pickets.  The  Servian  character  is  distinguished  by  strong  family 
affection,  patriotism,  and  love  of  freedom,  and  an  inclination  to  mys- 
ticism. The  family  life  is  conducted  after  the  patriarchal  style.  The 
head  of  the  household  presides  over  the  whole  circle  of  relatives  and 
dependents,  adjusts  their  differences,  regulates  their  labors,  superin- 
tends the  division  of  the  proceeds,  and  cares  for  all  as  for  himself. 
When  he  dies  his  son  takes  his  place,  or  if  he  declines  the  responsi- 
bility, some  one  else  is  chosen  in  his  stead.  All  the  members  of  the 
household  are  united  by  common  interest,  and  when  any  one  goes 
away  from  the  estate  he  is  entitled  to  receive  a  commutation  propor- 
tioned to  the  amount  he  has  contributed  by  his  services  to  the  gen- 
eral weal.  While  the  condition  of  the  women  is  subordinate,  the 
depth  of  the  affection  which  exists  between  brother  and  sister,  and 
the  esteem  in  which  it  is  held,  form  one  of  the  most  peculiar  and 
creditable  traits  of  the  Servian  character.  So  firmly-seated  and 
widely-extended  and  recognized  is  it,  that  out  of  it  has  grown  the 
strongest  sanction  that  a  Servian  can  give  to  his  pledge  or  his  word — 
"  As  true  as  my  brother  (or  my  sister)  lives."  Akin  to  it  is  the  bond 
of  brotherhood  or  sisterhood  which  two  young  men  or  young  women 
may  take  for  each  other,  which  is  often  sanctioned  by  open  and  for- 
rnal  ceremonies,  and  is  held  for  life. 

The  Servians  have  the  qualities  of  good  soldiers,  but  are  withal 
patient  and  peaceful,  honorable,  enduring,  and  firm.  They  are  not 
easily  cheated,  and  are  not  inclined  to  cheat.  If  they  believe  a  thing 
to  be  right,  they  will  adhere  to  it,  and  will  suffer  legal  restraint 
rather  than  yield.  They  are  proud,  and  avoid  menial  occupations 
and  mechanical  trades,  but  are  fond  of  military  and  official  life,  and 
readily  enter  mercantile  callings.  Their  merchants  enjoy  a  wide 
field  of  trade.  They  have  houses  in  Bucharest,  Trieste,  Pesth,  and 


TURKE Y'S  TRIE UTAR  Y  STA  TES  AND  SUB  JECTS.      137 

Vienna,  and  visit  all  the  larger  fairs  of  Southern  Hungary  with  their 
goods,  which  consist  rather  of  raw  materials  than  of  manufactured 
articles. 

Bosnia  and  Bulgaria  are  former  independent  kingdoms,  which 
have  been  subjugated  by  Turkey,  and  are  ruled  as  Turkish  prov- 
inces or  vilayets,  by  Governors  appointed  by  the  Porte.  The  major- 
ity of  the  people  of  Bosnia  are  attached  to  the  Greek  Church,  but 
the  Roman  Catholic  population  is  large,  and  the  wealthier  classes 
and  landowners  are  generally  Mohammedans.  The  kingdom  of 
Bosnia  survived  that  of  Servia  nearly  a  hundred  years,  although  it 
had  become  tributary  to  Turkey,  but  was  finally  overthrown  in  1463. 
The  King  and  a  number  of  the  Waywodes  were  put  to  death,  over 
two  hundred  thousand  of  the  inhabitants  of  both  sexes  were  sent 
into  slavery  in  Asia  Minor,  and  thirty  thousand  of  the  young  men 
were  enrolled  in  the  corps  of  the  Janizaries.  The  people,  of  whom 
the  mass  remained  true  to  the  Greek  faith,  were  despoiled  of  their 
lands,  which  were  divided  among  the  Mohammedans.  An  opportu- 
nity was  given,  however,  to  the  native  landowners  to  save  their 
estates  by  professing  the  Mohammedan  religion,  and  many  of  them 
did  so.  These  proprietors  were  the  ancestors  of  the  Mohammedan 
Bosnians,  the  begs,  or  landowners,  or  agas,  if  their  estates  are  very 
large,  of  the  present  day,  who  are  only  in  a  few  instances  Turks, 
but  are  generally  Slavs  of  the  same  race  with  the  Christian  Bosnians. 
Bosnia  occupies  an  isolated  position  with  reference  to  the  rest  of 
Turkey.  The  Christian  States  of  Servia,  jutting  in  from  the  north 
and  Montenegro  from  the  south-west,  almost  cut  it  off  from  the 
other  provinces,  leaving  only  the  narrow  sanjak  of  Novi-Bazar  as 
a  connecting  link.  The  Servian  language  is  spoken  through  most 
of  the  province,  but  the  Turkish,  as  the  official  language,  is  some- 
what affected  by  the  more  pretentious  begs.  The  country  is  mount- 
ainous, with  broad,  fertile  valleys.  About  four-tenths  of  the  land  is 
considered  tillable,  and  this  part  is  productive  of  remunerative  crops, 
the  best  known  of  which  are  the  "  Turkish  prunes ; "  yet  the  re- 
sources of  the  country,  which  are  capable  of  an  extensive  develop- 
ment, are  almost  entirely  unimproved.  There  are  but  few  high- 
ways worthy  of  the  name.  The  principal  means  of  communication 
are  by  bridle-paths,  with  causeways  over  the  swamps  that  are  almost 
as  dangerous  as  the  morasses  themselves,  and  dilapidated  bridges 
over  the  streams  that  /offer  little  choice  above  fording  the  waters. 
The  country  was,  before  its  conquest,  provided  with  good  roads,  the 


138  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

remains  of  which  may  be  found  in  various  quarters,  and  a  few  of 
the  ancient  "Roman  bridges  are  still  in  use.  A  single  railroad  has 
been  built  from  Banialuka  to  Rasnice,  and  four  telegraph  lines  have 
been  completed. 

Bosnia  contains  several  cities  of  moderate  size,  the  principal  of 
which  is  the  capital,  Bosna  Serai  or  Serayevo,  a  handsomely-situated 
and  well-appearing  town  of  45,000  inhabitants,  with  about  two  hun- 
dred minarets  and  mosques  and  considerable  trade. 

The  Mohammedan  Bosnians  live  together  only  in  the  larger  towns, 
where  they  are  engaged  in  trade,  and  control  most  of  the  commerce 
of  the  province.  The  landowners  live  scattered  about  on  their 
estates,  in  the  broader  valleys.  The  Christians  live  in  the  smaller 
villages,  and  in  the  higher  and  less  fruitful  valleys,  and  on  the  table- 
lands. The  Bosnians  are  of  fine  stature  and  physical  appearance, 
with  handsome,  expressive  features,  are  pious,  brave,  and  hospitable. 
Bishop  Strossmayer  characterizes  the  Mussulman  landowners  as  a 
fine  and  generous  body  of  men,  brave,  high-spirited,  and  resentful 
against  wrong ;  but  truthful,  honest,  and  never,  like  the  Turk,  cruel 
in  their  vengeance.  The  costume  of  the  Bosnians  is  like  that  of  the 
Morlaks,  a  Slavic  tribe  living  in  the  maritime  districts  of  Austro- 
Hungary,  and  is  marked  by  variety  in  color,  material,  and  fashion. 
Polygamy  has  never  gained  prevalence  among  the  begs.  The  women 
go  veiled  in  public,  but  enjoy  at  home  a  freedom  and  privilege  greater 
than  those  of  the  Turkish  women.  The  young  women  are  allowed 
to  receive  attentions  from  the  young  men,  and  the  young  man  who 
contemplates  marriage  is  permitted  to  spend  the  evening  with  his 
betrothed,  while  she  sits  concealed  from  his  view  by  a  wall  or 
shutter.  It  is  related  of  the  Bosnian  women  by  a  Turkish  historian 
that  when  the  first  captives  were  taken  to  the  Turkish  court  at 
Brussa,  before  the  capture  of  Constantinople,  they  appeared  to  the 
chiefs  like  living  genii  from  Paradise. 

The  education  of  the  people  is  limited,  and  science  and  literature 
have  made  but  little  progress  among  them.  In  the  few  schools 
which  have  been  established  by  the  Greeks,  Turks,  and  Bosnians 
themselves,  instruction  is  hardly  given  beyond  reading  and  writing. 
The  Mohammedans  have  schools  for  boys,  but  not  for  girls.  They 
have  also  higher  Koran  schools  in  connection  with  their  more  impor- 
tant mosques,  and  the  Roman  Catholics  have  schools  at  the  Francis- 
can monasteries.  It  is  estimated  by  good  authorities  that  only  one 
per  cent,  of  the  population  can  read,  hardly  any  one  can  write,  and 


TURKEY'S  TRIBUTARY  STATES  AND  SUBJECTS.      139 

there  is  not  a  printing-office  in  the  province.  Although  the  Bos- 
nians have  no  literature  of  their  own,  they  have  a  share  in  the  pop- 
ular songs,  tales,  and  fables,  in  which  the  Servian  folk-lore  is  pecul- 
iarly rich. 

The  Bosnians  are  discontented,  unquiet  subjects,  and  have  given 
trouble  by  frequent  insurrections.  Even  the  Mohammedan  begs 
have  not  cast  aside  the  ties  of  country  and  race.  "They  have 
never,"  says  Mr.  Malcolm  MacCall,  in  his  work  on  "  The  Eastern 
Question,"  "  forgotten  their  Christian  ancestry;  and  in  many  a  Mus- 
sulman household  among  the  valleys  of  Bosnia  and  on  the  slopes  of 
the  Balkans  are  fondly  cherished  traditions  and  memorials  of  the 
faith  which  their  forefathers  bartered  in  exchange  for  the  rights  of 

freemen The  Slav  Mussulmans  are  fanatical,  no  doubt,  but 

it  is  the  fanaticism  of  caste  rather  than  of  religion.  Of  Islam,  in  its 
theological  and  religious  aspect,  they  know  little  and  care  less.  Let 
the  Slav  Mussulmans  of  Bosnia  and  Bulgaria,"  he  adds,  "  be  con- 
vinced that  the  abolition  of  the  Turkish  rule  does  not  mean  the  abo- 
lition of  their  hereditary  rights,  and  they  will  view  the  exit  of  the 
Ottomans  not  with  equanimity  merely,  but  with  warm  approval." 

The  unhappy  disposition  of  the  people  is  chiefly  owing  to  the 
backward  state  of  the  country  and  the  inconveniences  under  which 
it  suffers.  Prof.  Gottfried  Kinkel,  of  Basel,  in  his  lecture  on  "  The 
Christian  Subjects  of  Turkey  in  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,"  shows 
that  they  are  chiefly  due  to  the  unjust  distribution  of  the  land,  in 
which  the  actual  tiller  is  not  permitted  to  enjoy  any  interest  of  pro- 
prietorship. This  author  expresses  the  belief  that  quiet  can  never 
be  restored  to  the  country  until  the  present  system  is  swept  away, 
and  a  new  distribution  is  made  among  the  actual  inhabitants,  who 
are  also  the  heirs  of  the  former  rightful  owners  of  the  soil. 

Herzegovina  is  geographically,  ethnographically,  and  historically 
connected  with  Bosnia.  It  is  more  mountainous  than  Bosnia,  and 
has  a  smaller  relative  area  of  tillable  soil,  the  amount  being  three- 
tenths  for  Herzegovina  to  four-tenths  for  Bosnia.  In  the  fifteenth 
century  Herzegovina  was  known  as  the  Bosnian  Province  of  Kosat- 
china.  The  Prince  Stefan  Kosatcha,  who  ruled  the  province  dur- 
ing the  reign  of  the  Bosnian  King  Tomer  Ostojiksh  Christitch,  asked 
and  obtained  from  the  German  Emperor,  Frederick  III.,  the  title 
and  rank  of  Duke.  From  that  time  the  province  has  borne  its 
present  name,  Herzegovina,  derived  from  the  Hungarian  word 
Herczeg  (German,  Herzog),  Duke.  Under  Turkish  rule  it  has  been 


140  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

at  times,  as  now,  a  separate  vilayet,  and  at  other  times  a  part  of  the 
vilayet  of  Bosnia.  The  capital  and  principal  city  of  Herzegovina 
is  Mostar,  a  town  of  15,000  inhabitants,  on  the  Narenta  Elver, 
founded  in  1440. 

The  dress  of  the  Bosnian  rayah  is  similar  in  cut  to  that  of  the 
Turk  of  the  same  rank,  but  the  Bosnian  is  not  permitted  to  wear 
bright  red.  He  wears  a  fez,  which  is  often  wrapped  with  a  dark  red 
cloth ;  a  brown  doublet,  full  breeches  of  white  or  dark  blue  felted 
goods  reaching  to  the  knees,  a  blue  or  dark  red  sash,  and  sandals. 
He  can  not  carry  arms  without  paying  a  tax  and  getting  a  license 
therefor,  so  that  his  chibouk,  or  Turkish  pipe,  and  his  tobacco-pouch 
constitute  the  only  ornaments  he  has  corresponding  to  the  glittering 
pistols  and  daggers  of  his  Servian  and  Montenegrin  neighbors. 

The  women  wear  a  costume  which  is  after  the  fashion  of  either 
the  Servians,  Morlaks,  or  Turks.  In  the  latter  case  it  consists  of 
a  fez,  a  colored  jacket  with  sleeves  open  before,  exposing  an  under 
bodice  which  partly  covers  the  opened  shirt ;  trousers  of  dark  stuff 
reaching  to  the  ankles,  and  stockingless  feet,  with  slippers  or  low- 
cut  shoes.  The  rayah  lives  in  a  house  of  wood  and  mud  or  of  stone, 
according  as  either  material  is  more  abundant  in  the  neighborhood ; 
sleeps  in  his  clothes,  and  does  not  forget  to  be  obsequious  to  the 
Mussulman. 

The  Bulgarians  are  not  confined  to  the  province  marked  Bulgaria 
on  the  maps,  but  form  the  bulk  of  the  rural  population  of  the 
country  from  Western  Macedonia  to  the  Black  Sea,  and  from  the 
Danube  to  the  Sea  of  Marmora.  They  are  of  the  Ugro-Finnish 
race,  and  came  down  in  the  days  of  the  Roman  Empire  from  the 
regions  of  the  Yolga,  whence  their  name,  and  took  possession  of 
the  region  which  they  still  occupy.  This  region  being  inhabited  by 
a  Slavic  people,  the  Bulgarians  mingled  with  the  natives  and  as- 
similated with  them,  adopting  their  customs  and  the  essential 
features  of  their  language,  while  they  still  retained  the  physiog- 
nomy of  their  own  race.  Bulgaria  formed  a  kingdom  of  consider- 
able importance  in  the  middle  ages,  but  was  subdued  by  the  Hun- 
garians in  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century,  and  finally  by  the 
Turks  in  1392.  The  Bulgarian  Church  gradually  fell  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Greeks,  who  are  the  dominant  race  of  the  districts 
lying  south  of  the  Bulgarian  region.  The  Greek  clergy  finally 
gained  the  control  of  the  ecclesiastical  organization  and  ritual,  and 
sought  to  banish  the  Bulgarian  language  from  the  churches  and 


BULGARIANS. 


NICHOLAS   I. -PRINCE    OF    MONTENEGRO. 


TURKEY'S  TRIBUTARY  STATES  AND  SUBJECTS.      143 

schools,  and  to  substitute  their  own  ritual  in  worship.  Their  efforts 
aroused  a  spirit  of  discontent  and  opposition  to  which  the  Bulgarians 
had  long  been  strangers,  and  led  to  the  organization  of  a  movement 
about  thirty  years  ago  for  the  restoration  of  the  National  Church  and 
the  establishment  of  a  national  system  of  popular  education.  In 
1870,  the  Sultan  issued  a  firman  re-establishing  the  Bulgarian 
Church  upon  its  ancient  foundations,  and  conceding  to  it  a  complete 
organization  of  native  ecclesiastical  administration,  courts,  and 
ritual,  which  produced  a  happy  effect  on  the  disposition  and  con- 
dition of  the  people.  The  new  rule  gave  them  a  set  of  officers  of 
their  own,  who  would  have  much  to  do  with  the  management  of 
local  affairs,  and  also  furnished  them,  in  their  priests  and  bishops, 
an  agency  of  their  own  faith  and  nationality  in  whom  they  could 
confide,  and  who  would  sympathize  with  them,  through  whom  to 
communicate  with  the  heads  of  the  province  and  of  the  Empire. 

The  reorganization  of  the  schools,  although  it  was  a  part  of  the 
same  movement,  in  effect  preceded  that  of  the  Church.  Permission 
was  obtained  from  the  Government  for  the  establishment  of  schools 
distinct  from  those  of  the  Greeks  in  some  of  the  district  towns. 
Slavic  books  were  printed  and  imported  from  abroad,  and  the  re- 
vival of  education  became  very  rapid,  so  that  there  were  in  1870,  in 
the  sanjak  of  Philippopolis,  337  schools  of  four  grades,  with  385 
teachers  and  16,500  pupils,  and  a  special  training-school  for  teachers 
at  Philippopolis.  The  teachers  receive  salaries  ranging  from  $350 
to  $700  per  annum  ;  education  is  free,  the  schools  being  supported 
by  subscriptions  and  the  proceeds  of  bequests  made  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  appropriations  from  the  ecclesiastical  revenues.  Efforts 
have  been  made  to  induce  the  Ottoman  Government  to  establish  a 
special  board  of  instruction  for  Bulgaria,  but  so  far  without  success.. 

The  popular  schools  are  supplemented  by  the  excellent  schools  of 
the  American  missions  at  Philippopolis  and  Eski  Sagra,  and  by  Robert 
College  at  Constantinople,  which  is  largely  attended  by  Bulgarian' 
youth  seeking  a  higher  education.  The  Bulgarian  ladies  have  also 
made  efforts  for  the  advancement  of  education  among  their  own 
sex,  which  have  been  rewarded  with  a  measure  of  success. 

Literary  enterprise  is  not  very  active  among  the  Bulgarians.  One 
of  the  most  important  of  their  journals  is  the  Macedonia,  the 
organ  of  the  National  party.  The  people  are  represented  as  anxious 
to  receive  education,  and  the  Bulgarian  students  at  Eobert  College 
are  said  to  take  the  lead  in  scholarship. 
8 


144  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

The  most  serious  cause  of  complaint  which  the  Bulgarians  have 
recently  had  to  make  against  the  Turkish  Government  has  arisen 
from  the  enforced  settlement  of  the  Circassians  among  them.  The 
Porte,  in  providing  for  the  Mussulman  refugees  from  the  Caucasus 
who  sought  its  protection  in  1864,  after  the  Russians  had  suhdued 
that  country,  settled  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  Circassians 
in  Bulgaria,  scattering  them  among  the  Bulgarian  people  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  split  up  the  most  compact  Bulgarian  masses  into  weaker 
communities  and  thus  injure  their  force  and  influence.  Land  was 
seized  for  the  colonists,  and  the  Bulgarians  were  compelled  to  assist 
them  in  building  houses  and  settling  themselves.  In  addition  to 
this  original  sway,  the  Circassians  have  proved  very  troublesome 
neighbors,  have  destroyed  the  security  of  persons  and  property  in 
their  neighborhood,  and  have  become,  as  a  writer  who  has  recently 
described  the  situation  in  the  province*  says,  a  thorn  in  the  flesh  of 
the  Bulgarians,  "  against  whom  they  have  to  put  up  iron  bars  and 
keep  numerous  fierce  dogs,  precautions  which  do  not  always  avail." 

The  Bulgarians  have  generally  been  quiet  subjects,  and  have  sub- 
mitted for  several  centuries  to  political  and  ecclesiastical  oppressions 
with  such  patience  as  to  have  acquired  a  reputation  for  servility  and 
lack  of  energy  which  they  do  not  deserve ;  with  a  patience,  too, 
which  contrasts  strangely  with  the  outburst  of  frenzy  to  which  they 
gave  way  in  the  summer  of  187T,  and  makes  that  phenomenon  all 
the  more  remarkable.  They  labor  industriously  when  they  work, 
yet  do  not  get  along  as  well  as  they  should,  for  they  faithfully  keep 
all  the  feasts  and  fasts  ordered  by  their  religion,  which,  with  the 
Sundays,  take  up  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  days,  or  half  the 
year.  Nevertheless,  the  Bulgarian  settlements  of  the  better  class 
bear  evidence  of  considerable  thrift  and  comfort.  The  Bulgarians 
live  in  simple  style,  are  fond  of  brilliant  costumes — of  which  every 
village  has  its  own  colors — and  are  addicted  to  ceremony,  especially 
at  weddings  and  funerals.  They  are  fond  of  dancing,  and  have  a 
bagpipe  and  music  like  those  of  Scotland.  An  equality  is  acknowl- 
edged in  their  families  between  man  and  wife  and  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  household,  which  is  quite  foreign  to  the  Slavs  of  the 
neighboring  provinces.  Frequently,  according  to  Kanitz,  the  woman 
shows  herself,  by  her  superior  ability  and  energy,  to  be  qualified  to 
be  the  effective  head  of  the  house.  The  Bulgarians  in  the  cities  of 
the  Danube  are  engaged  in  mercantile  occupations  or  shop-keeping, 

*  Mr.  Archibald  Forbes,  in  the  Nineteenth  Century,  November,  1877. 


TURKEY'S  TRIBUTARY  STATES  AND  SUBJECTS.      145 

or  follow  handicrafts.  Very  few  of  them  practice  in  the  profes- 
sions or  fill  official  positions ;  many  enter  the  sendee  of  the  Church 
as  priests  or  monks.  Those  who  live  in  the  highlands  or  towns  of 
the  Balkans  raise  cattle  or  prosecute  industries ;  the  people  of  the 
plains  are  farmers.  The  manufacture  of  the  attar  of  roses  is  largely 
carried  on  south  of  the  Balkans,  and  the  milder  climate  of  these 
regions  make  it  favorable  to  the  production  of  silk,  tobacco,  wine, 
fruits,  and  other  profitable  crops. 

The  Bulgarians  have  made  considerable  progress  during  the  last 
ten  years  in  enterprise,  education,  and  all  that  tends  to  better  their 
condition.  It  is,  however,  far  less  than  the  progress  which  Servia 
has  made,  and  not  as  great  as  that  which  Rumania  has  made. 

The  Montenegrins  are  the  most  warlike  people  of  the  Slavic  race. 
Turkey  claims  a  sovereignty  over  their  principality,  but  has  never 
been  able  to  exercise  it,  except  for  very  brief  periods,  for  four  hun- 
dred years.  The  people  are  in  a  state  of  chronic  warfare  against  the 
Turks,  and  have  more  often  beaten  them  than  been  beaten  by  them  ; 
and  although  less  than  two  hundred  thousand  in  number,  and  pos- 
sessing only  1,700  square  miles  of  territory,  they  have  maintained 
their  independence  with  a  heroism  that  has  won  for  them  the  admi- 
ration of  the  world.  The  principality  of  Montenegro,  Tchernagora, 
or  the  Black  Mountain,  was  founded  in  1484,  when  Scutari,  having 
been  taken  on  the  south,  and  the  Herzegovinians  on  the  north  having 
submitted  to  the  Ottomans,  Ivan  Tchernoyevitch,  with  his  followers, 
rather  than  give  up  their  independence,  abandoned  the  plain  country 
and  retired  to  the  rocks  and  mountains.  A  monastery  was  built  at 
Cettigne,  to  be  the  center  of  the  new  commonwealth,  and  a  printing- 
press  was  set  up  in  it,  only  twenty-eight  years  after  the  first  printed 
book  had  been  made,  and  before  Oxford  or  Cambridge  or  Edin- 
burgh had  a  press.  Here  the  fundamental  law  of  the  State  was 
adopted,  which  included,  according  to  Gladstone,  the  conditions 
"  that  in  time  of  war  against  the  Turk  no  son  of  Tchernagora  could 
quit  the  field  without  the  order  of  his  chief ;  that  a  runaway  should 
be  forever  disgraced  and  banished  from  his  people  ;  that  he  should 
be  dressed  in  woman's  clothes  and  presented  with  a  distaff ;  and 
that  the  women,  striking  him  with  their  distaffs,  should  hunt  the 
coward  away  from  the  sanctuary  of  freedom." 

Ivan  died  in  1490,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  George,  who, 
upon  his  retirement  in  1516,  assigned  the  sovereignty  of  the*  prin- 
cipality to  the  metropolitan  or  bishop.  From  his  accession,  "  a 


146  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

long  series  of  twenty  prelates,"  says  Gladstone,  "like  Moses,  or 
Joshua,  or  Barak,  or  the  son  of  Jesse,  taught  in  the  sanctuary,  pre- 
sided in  the  councils,  and  fought  in  the  front  of  the  battle." 
Several  of  these  prince-bishops  were  admirable  statesmen,  a  fact 
which  is  well  shown  by  the  success  with  which  they  maintained  the 
independence  of  the  country  against  foreign  foes  whose  armed 
detachments  outnumbered  its  entire  population,  as  well  as  against 
domestic  traitors,  and  by  the  attachment  and  confidence  with  which 
the  population  always  rallied  around  them.  The  bishop  was  assisted 
by  a  civil  governor,  who  attended  to  secular  affairs  until  the  present 
century,  when  the  office  was  abolished.  A  code  of  laws  was  pro- 
mulgated, and  a  complete  system  of  judicial  administration  was  estab- 
lished about  the  beginning  of  the  present  century.  Prince  Danilo, 
who  succeeded  to  the  sovereignty  in  1851,  wishing  to  marry,  avoided 
consecration  as  a  bishop,  and  effected  a  permanent  separation  be- 
tween the  ecclesiastical  and  the  civil  authority.  His  administration 
was  very  successful.  He  published  a  statute-book  in  1855,  main- 
tained the  neutrality  of  the  country  during  the  Crimean  war,  though 
at  the  cost  of  internal  commotion,  and  conducted  a  successful  cam- 
paign against  the  Turks  in  1858,  after  having  refused  a  proposition 
made  to  him  by  the  Western  Powers  in  1857  to  acknowledge  the 
suzerainty  of  the  Porte  in  return  for  some  advantage  promised  to 
the  State. 

The  independence  of  the  country  was  acknowledged  by  the 
powers  in  1858,  and  its.  representative  was  admitted  to  the  com- 
mission which  sat  at  Constantinople  in  1859,  for  the  adjustment  of 
boundaries,  but  in  the  face  of  the  protests  of  the  Porte.  Prince 
Danilo  was  assassinated  in  1860,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  present 
Prince  Nikita,  or  Nicholas.  The  Montenegrins  are  stalwart,  active 
men,  of  unsurpassed  braver)'- ;  their  dress  is  picturesque,  and  bristles 
with  arms,  for  they  go  prepared  for  conflict.  They  speak  the 
Servian  language,  and  are  attached  to  the  orthodox  Greek  Church, 
but  are  not  as  devout  as  warlike.  They  maintained,  until  very 
recently,  several  peculiar  customs  of  a  primitive  society,  fche  most 
remarkable  of  which  was  that  of  the  bond  of  brotherhood,  by 
which  two  champions  pledged  themselves  to  stand  by  each  other, 
with  the  condition  that  if  either  were  hopelessly  disabled  in  battle, 
the  other  should  cut  off  his  head  to  save  it  from  capture  and  out- 
rage by  the  enemy.  The  principality  contains  374  villages  and 
hamlets,  a  church  for  each,  several  cloisters,  some  of  which  are  not 


TURKEY'S  TRIBUTARY  STATES  AND  SUBJECTS.      147 

used,  and  seventy-two  schools.  Cettignc,  the  capital,  is  a  town  of 
five  hundred  inhabitants,  picturesquely  situated  at  the  foot  of  a 
steep  mountain.  Montenegro  has  no  standing  army,  but  the  twenty 
thousand  men  are  all  soldiers  by  habit,  ready  for  duty  at  a  moment's 
notice,  and  the  women  are  little  behind  them  in  bravery  and  capa- 
bility of  defending  themselves  and  their  homes. 

The  Montenegrins  have  maintained  their  wars  against  the  Turks 
for  about  four  centuries,  and  have  never  suffered  themselves  to  be 
overcome.  Gladstone  remarks  in  his  paper  on  Montenegro  in  The 
Nineteenth  Century,  that  the  Turks  never  venture  to  attack  the 
principality  with  an  equal  force,  but  aim  to  bring  against  it  double 
the  number  of  men  that  it  can  muster ;  and  he  gives  several  striking 
illustrations  from  past  and  present  wars  of  the  pertinacity  with 
which  the  Montenegrins  have  maintained  their  position.  In  1712, 
the  Turks  brought  a  force  of  not  less  than  fifty  thousand  men, 
which  Prince  Danilo  met  with  12,000  men,  and  routed  with  a  loss 
to  the  Turks  of  20,000,  to  the  Montenegrins  of  only  318  men.  In 
1768,  the  Turks  again  invaded  Montenegro  with  an  army  variously 
rated  at  67,000,  100,000,  and  180,000  men.  The  Montenegrins 
met  them  with  ten  to  twelve  thousand  men,  killed  twenty  thousand 
Turks  with  three  thousand  horses,  and  captured  "an  incredible 
booty  of  colors,  arms,  ammunition,  and  baggage."  The  brilliant 
character  of  the  Montenegrin  victories  of  1876  is  admirably  set 
forth  by  Gladstone  in  the  following  summary : 

"  On  July  28,  the  men  of  Tchernagora  encountered  Mukhtar  Pasha, 
and  for  once  with  superior  force.  Four  thousand  Turks  were  killed, 
but  only  seventy  men  of  Montenegro.  Osman  Pasha  was  taken ; 
Selim  was  among  the  slain.  At  Medun,  on  August  14,  20,000 
Turks  were  defeated  by  5,000  of  these  heroic  warriors,  and  4,700 
slain.  On  September  6,  five  battalions  of  Montenegro  defeated 
Dervish  Pasha  in  his  movement  upon  Piperi,  and  slew  3,000  of 
his  men.  On  October  7,  Mukhtar  Pasha,  with  18,000  men,  drove 
three  Montenegrin  battalions  back  upon  Mirotinsko  Dolove.  Here 
they  were  raised,  by  a  junction  with  Vukovitch,  to  a  strength  of 
6,000  men.  Thus  reinforced,  they  swept  down  upon  Mukhtar,  and 
after  an  action  of  sixteen  hours,  drove  him  back  to  Kloluk,  leaving 
1,500  dead  behind  him.  On  October  10,  Dervish  Pasha  effected 
an  advance  from  the  south,  until  he  found  himself  attacked  simul- 
taneously at  various  points,  and  had  to  retreat,  with  a  loss  of  2,000 
men.  On  October  20,  Medun  was  taken,  and  the  Ottoman  General 


148  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

fled  to  Scutari,  leaving  garrisons  in  Spuz  and  Podgoritza.  The 
armistice  arrested  this  course  of  disasters,  when  the  southern  army 
(Dervish)  had  been  reduced  from  45,000  to  22,000,  and  the  north- 
ern (Mukhtar)  from  35,000  to  18,000." 

An  illustration  of  the  practical  respect  which  the  great  powers 
show  for  Montenegro  was  given  during  the  wars  of  1875  and  1876, 
when,  until  July  of  the  latter  year,  Austria  permitted  the  Turks 
to  use  its  port  of  Klek  for  landing  their  troops,  because  the  comity 
of  nations  allowed  them  thus  to  assist  a  friendly  State  in  quelling 
an  insurrection  in  one  of  its  provinces;  but  when  Montenegro 
declared  war  against  Turkey  in  July,  1876,  the  port  was  closed 
against  the  Turks,  because,  as  the  Austrian  Government  presented 
the  case,  Montenegro  was  a  sovereign  State,  engaged  in  regular 
warfare,  and  standing  on  an  equal  footing  with  Turkey,  and  Austria, 
as  a  neutral,  could  not  assist  either  belligerent. 

The  Montenegrins,  whether  they  be  tall,  portly  figures,  as  is  the 
prevailing  type,  short  and  thick-set,  or  slender,  as  some  are,  are 
robust  and  active,  possessing  all  the  qualities  of  the  best  physical 
manhood.  They  have,  for  the  most  part,  brown  or  black  hair,  which 
is  cut  short  in  front  and  left  long  behind,  and  dark,  fiery  eyes.  Oc- 
casionally a  blonde  is  found,  with  blue  eyes.  The  beard  is  generally 
worn  only  in  the  mustache,  though  recently  whiskers  have  come  into 
fashion,  but  the  chin  is  shaved.  The  men  have  fine,  expressive, 
weather-bronzed  countenances,  but  the  women's  faces  wear  the 
marks  of  hard  work,  care,  and  fatigue.  Handsome  women  are  as 
rare  as  fine,  hearty-looking  men  are  numerous.  The  whole  training 
of  the  men  is  directed  to  making  them  strong,  active,  and  enduring 
as  warriors. 

The  Montenegrin  costume  is  very  picturesque.  The  cap  is  in  the 
shape  of  a  low  cylinder  hat,  without  a  brim,  the  sides  of  which  are 
of  black  silk  or  gauze,  the  black  color  having  been  adopted  as  a 
symbol  of  mourning  for  the  subjection  of  the  Servian  nation.  The 
top  of  the  cap  is  red,  and  ornamented  with  a  golden  star,  to  which  is 
added  a  semicircle  or  rainbow,  symbolizing  the  hope  of  the  ultimate 
restoration  of  Servian  nationality,  and  the  initials  of  the  name  of 
the  reigning  prince.  To  a  red  waistcoat,  embroidered  with  black 
or  gold,  is  added  the  gunj,  a  long,  folded,  white  cloak,  and  in  case 
of  a  well-to-do  Montenegrin,  the  jelek,  a  sleeveless  doublet,  which 
with  numerous  black,  red,  and  golden  ornaments,  is  often  made  to 
cost  a  very  high  price.  The  dagger,  pistol,  and  other  weapons  are 


TURKS  Y'S  TRIE UTAR  Y  STA  TES  AND  SUB  JECTS.      149 

carried  in  a  red  belt,  which  is  bordered  with  a  silver-worked  bind- 
ing. The  plaited  full  blue  breeches  reach  to  the  knee,  where  they 
are  attached  by  an  ornamental  band  to  a  kind  of  gaiter,  or  to  an 
embroidered  white  stocking.  The  feet  are  protected  by  sandals  of 
untanned  leather,  which  are  wrapped  around  with  a  network  of 
thongs  so  as  to  facilitate  the  task  of  climbing  the  rocks.  Both  men 
and  women  wear  over  the  shoulders  a  long  fringed  shawl,  called 
the  struka,  which  is  used  as  a  protection  against  rain  and  cold,  and 
as  a  covering  at  night.  Frequent  washing  does  not  agree  with  the 
Montenegrin's  idea  of  heroism ;  consequently  he  is  said  to  be  far 
from  clean,  and  his  linen  heroically  dirty.  An  English  writer,  who 
estimates  the  value  of  a  complete  Montenegrin  suit  at  £20,  or  one 
hundred  dollars,  says  that  when  he  expressed  his  surprise  that  the 
men  could  afford  such  a  sum,  he  was  told  that  a  dress  would  last  a 
life-time. 

The  women  of  the  poorer  classes  wear  a  long  shirt  fastened  with 
a  belt,  a  woolen  apron,  and  the  struka,  or  shawl.  Those  in  better 
circumstances  wear  a  vest,  open  in  front,  with  sleeves,  a  sleeveless 
jacket  of  blue  or  violet  silk  embroidered  with  gold  braid,  a  silver 
belt,  a  silk  apron,  and  a  black  hood.  The  young  women  wear,  in- 
stead of  the  sleeveless  vest,  a  bodice  and  a  cap,  which  is  destitute  of 
the  stellar  ornament  and  semicircle,  and  dispense  with  the  belt. 

The  Montenegrin  looks  upon  war — war  against  the  Turks — as  his 
proper  calling.  During  intervals  of  peace  he  is  a  hunter — in  the 
old  time  he  would  have  been  a  highwayman — and  leaves  all  labor 
and  mechanical  work  to  the  women  and  to  foreigners.  Under  the 
enlightened  rule  of  the  later  princes  it  has  begun  to  be  considered 
respectable  to  engage  in  a  few  kinds  of  business.  If  he  has  not  the 
means  to  live  a  gentleman's  life  during  peaceful  times,  the  Montene- 
grin will  go  abroad  and  earn  his  bread  ;  but  he  will  return  home  at 
the  first  sign  of  war  and  enlist  under  the  banner  of  his  nation. 
Nothing  but  extreme  necessity  will  induce  him  to  emigrate  per- 
manently from  his  beloved  country.  » 

The  houses  of  the  Montenegrins  are  built  on  the  mountain  sides, 
or  cliffs,  both  for  safety  and  so  as  to  encroach  as  little  as  possible  on 
the  soil  fit  for  cultivation.  The  houses  of  the  poorer  classes  are  of 
rough  stones,  laid  without  mortar,  and  seldom  of  more  than  one; 
story.  The  houses  of  the  middle  classes  are  of  two  stories,  with  the^ 
stable  and  store-rooms  below  and  the  living  rooms  above.  The^ 
houses  of  the  well-to-do  classes  are  of  a  better  order ;  and,  lastly,, 


150  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

the  kula,  or  tower,  the  place  of  refuge  for  the  neighborhood,  where 
all  the  families  can  retire  in  case  of  invasion,  is  a  peculiar  feature 
of  Montenegrin  life,  which  takes  us  back  to  the  warlike  days  of  the 
middle  ages.  A  hereditary  aristocracy  exists  in  the  country,  embrac- 
ing two  ranks,  the  Waywodes  and  the  Serdars,  or  Cavaliers.  The 
family  life  is  quite  the  opposite  to  that  which  prevails  in  Servia. 
Here  the  household  is  contracted  to  the  narrowest  circle  of  blood- 
relatives,  and  is  destitute  of  that  community  of  interest  which 
beautifies  Servian  life.  The  land  goes  generally  to  the  youngest  son, 
because  he  stays  longest  in  the  family,  while  the  eldest  seeks  a  home 
elsewhere,  receiving,  as  his  share  of  the  inheritance,  only  his  father's 
arms.  The  condition  of  the  women  is  lower  than  in  Servia ;  they 
have  the  burden  of  labor  and  of  the  maintenance  of  the  household, 
and  are  contented  to  bear  it  as  part  of  the  order  of  things,  while 
their  manly  relatives  fulfill  their  destiny  in  fighting  the  Turks. 

The  first  school  was  established  in  Cettigne  in  1834.  There  are 
now  in  the  principality  seventy-one  institutions,  a  seminary  for 
priests  and  teachers,  and  a  girls'  high-school.  Education  is  free,  and 
the  State  supplies  books  and  other  requisites. 

The  Albanians,  Arnauts,  or  Shkipetars,  who  inhabit  the  Adriatic 
province  south  of  Montenegro,  are  of  the  old  Illyrian  or  Thracian 
stock,  and  have  given  Turkey  some  of  its  greatest  men  and  best 
soldiers.  They  are  divided  into  a  number  of  tribes,  most  of  which 
may  be  referred  to  two  stocks — the  Geg  in  the  north,  and  the 
Toskari  in  the  south  and  center  of  the  country.  The  majority  of  the 
people  are  Mohammedans.  That  part  of  them  who  are  of  Greek  or 
Slavic  descent  are,  for  the  most  part,  attached  to  the  Greek  Church ; 
and  the  Roman  Catholics  are  numerously  represented.  The  Roman 
Catholics  of  one  district,  who  are  called  Miridites,  were  in  insurrec- 
tion in  the  spring  of  1877,  but  soon  yielded  to  the  force  that  was 
sent  to  quiet  them. 

The  Albanians  are,  as  a  rule,  a  handsome,  noble-looking  race  of 
men,  of  medium  height  or  tall,  strong,  well-formed,  rather  slender 
than  stout,  with  a  proud,  theatrical  bearing.  Their  heads  are  long-, 
their  foreheads  broad,  their  noses  lengthened  and  straight.  Their 
method  of  dressing  the  hair  is  peculiar.  A  wide  border  is  clean 
shaven  all  around  the  head,  so  that  only  a  small  tuft  remains  on  the 
crown ;  this  is  twisted  into  a  loose  switch,  is  turned  up  under  the 
fez,  and  so  lies  on  the  back  of  the  neck  as  a  sort  of  chignon.  Often 
the  whole  front  of  the  head  is  shaven  from  ear  to  ear,  and  the  remain- 


MONTENEGRINS. 


GREEKS. 


TURKEY'S  TRIBUTARY  STATES  AND  SUBJECTS.      153 

ing  hair  is  allowed  to  fall  down  over  the  back.  The  beard  is  trim- 
med to  a  mustache.  A  little,  but  not  important  difference  is  observed 
in  the  dress  of  the  Northern  and  Southern  Albanians.  The  fez  is 
worn  everywhere.  The  fustanella  of  Epirus,  a  plaited  skirt  of  white 
cloth  reaching  to  the  knees,  is  about  equally  in  vogue  with  the 
sailor's  breeches  of  blue  cotton  of  the  North.  The  brown  sailor's 
cloak,  or  capota,  of  wool  mixed  with  goats'  hair,  is  likewise  gener- 
ally worn.  A  cloak  of  white  woolen,  without  collar  or  sleeves,  and 
leaving  the  breast  and  body  exposed,  called  the  flokate,  is  worn  in 
Toskeria,  or  Southern  Albania,  by  young  and  old,  at  all  seasons.  It 
is  evidently  designed  to  represent  the  sheepskin  ;  its  white  texture 
is  plentifully  besprinkled  with  red  threads  corresponding  to  the 
stains  of  blood,  and  triangular  pieces  are  attached  to  the  upper  part 
of  the  arm-holes,  which,  reaching  to  the  middle  of  the  arms,  suggest 
the  skins  of  the  sheeps'  fore-legs.  This  garment  is  worn  close  to 
the,  body  down  to  the  waist,  whence  it  hangs  in  full  folds.  Some 
other  tribes  wear  a  white  woolen  coat  without  a  collar,  open  in  front 
and  reaching  to  the  middle  of  the  thighs,  fastened  at  the  waist  by  a 
belt ;  in  other  districts,  short  breeches  and  gaiters  prevail,  the  latter 
being  highly  ornamented,  and  calling  to  mind  the  Cothurni  of  the 
ancients.  The  Albanians  are  fond  of  all  kinds  of  dress  ornaments, 
and  indulge  in  them  lavishly.  The  dress  of  the  women  is  very 
similar  to  that  of  the  Montenegrin  women. 

In  thought  and  feeling  the  Albanians  are  barbarians ;  they  set  a 
light  value  on  human  life,  and  are  ready  to  kill  for  a  slight  offense  ; 
and  every  murder  calls  the  custom  of  "  blood  vengeance  "  into  exer- 
cise, when  the  assassin  and  all  that  are  his  have  to  flee,  and  the  fam- 
ily of  the  murdered  man  pursue  him  till  the  law  of  vengeance  is  satis- 
fied, after  which  friendship  may  be  renewed  with  solemn  ceremonies. 
Their  favorite  occupation  is  war ;  they  were  formerly  enlisted  in  the 
armies  of  several  of  the  principal  States  of  Western  Europe,  but  are 
now  found  mostly  in  the  Turkish  armies..  The  family  life  is  charac- 
terized by  community  of  goods  and  the  subordination  of  the  women, 
whose  condition  is  little  above  servitude.  They  perform  all  the  labors 
and  are  so  accustomed  to  their  situation  as  to  consider  any  deference 
paid  to  themselves  as  unworthy  of  a  man.  They  often  accompany 
their  husbands  to  the  battle-field,  where  they  take  care  of  the  wound- 
ed, and  sometimes  take  up  arms  themselves.  There  are  many  Al- 
banian legends  of  heroic  women.  Girls  are  considered  marriageable' 
when  twelve  years  old.  The  marriage  is  a  matter  of  sale,  and  the 


154  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

price  of  a  wife  averages  about  one  hundred  piasters.  A  modification 
of  the  custom  of  marriage  by  capture,  or  of  stealing  the  bride  and 
carrying  her  off  by  force,  still  prevails  among  some  of  the  mountain 
tribes  of  the  North.  . 

The  Albanians  in  the  mountain  districts  live  in  two-story  stone 
houses,  in  which  the  living-rooms  are  in  the  upper  story,  the  stable, 
etc.,  in  the  lower.  A  tower  is  often  attached,  which  is  reached  from 
the  house  by  a  kind  of  draw-bridge.  This  feature,  as  well  as  the 
whole  style  of  the  buildings,  suggests  the  time  when  the  houses  were 
fortifications.  The  habitations  in  the  agricultural  districts  consist  of 
a  hedged  enclosure,  containing  several  small  buildings,  one  of  which 
is  used  for  the  dwelling,  the  others  for  cattle  and  store-houses.  The 
Albanian  language  includes  several  dialects,  which  seem  to  be  mix- 
tures of  various  tongues,  representing  all  the  races  which  have  ever 
inhabited  or  ruled  the  country.  It  is  written  by  the  Northern  tribes 
in  Koman,  by  the  Southern  tribes  in  Greek  characters. 

All  of  the  Grecian  States  and  Islands  formerly  belonged  to  Turkey. 
The  kingdom  of  Greece,  consisting  of  the  Morea,  most  of  ancient 
Hellas,  the  island  of  Negropont,  or  Euboea,  with  the  Sporades  lying 
near  it,  and  the  Cyclades,  gained  its  independence  in  182T.  The 
Ionian  Islands  were  added  by  cession  from  Great  Britain,  in  1864. 
The  area  of  the  kingdom  is  19,353  square  miles,  and  its  population 
in  1870  was  1,457,894.  The  little  State  has  made  considerable  ad- 
vancement since  it  became  free,  both  material  and  in  the  arts,  but 
its  small  size  and  scanty  population  prevent  the  development  of  great 
statesmanship  or  enterprise.  The  Greek  population  of  Turkey  are 
scattered  through  the  districts  representing  the  ancient  States  of 
Thessaly,  Epirus,  and  Macedonia,  in  Southern  Rurnelia,  along  the 
northern,  western,  and  southern  coasts  of  Asia  Minor,  and  upon  the 
islands  of  the  Eastern  Mediterranean,  including  the  large  islands  of 
Cyprus  and  Candia,  or  Crete.  The  northern  line  of  the  regions  in 
which  the  modern  Greek  language  is  spoken  in  Turkey,  in  Europe, 
starts  at  Philates  on  the  Adriatic,  opposite  the  island  of  Corfu,  ex- 
tends through  Yanina,-  Konitza,  Kastoria,  and  across  the  Lower  War- 
dar,  near  Salonica ;  thence  through  the  middle  of  Eumelia  to  Agath- 
opolis,  or  Akhteboli,  on  the  Black  Sea.  The  Greeks  are  a  trading  peo- 
ple, and  are  most  numerous  in  the  towns  and  commercial  centers  and 
along  the  sea  coasts,  leaving  the  rural  parts  of  the  interior  to  be  iu- 
'  habited  mainly  by  Bulgarians.  They  have  a  genius  for  political  in- 
trigue, and  before  the  kingdom  of  Greece  was  separated  from  Turkey, 


TURKEY'S  TRIBUTARY  STATES  AND  SUBJECTS.      155 

exercised  a  powerful  influence  on  the  Porte.  Although  much  less 
numerous  than  the  Bulgarians  in  Rumelia,  they  have  enjoyed  so 
much  prominence  over  them,  and  have  so  exercised  the  mastery  of 

»the  Bulgarian  Church  and  schools,  as  to  give  rise  to  exaggerated  ideas 
of  their  numbers.  According  to  Baker,  there  is  a  marked  difference 
in  customs  and  social  ways,  between  the  Greek  settlers  in  the  towns 
of  the  Black  Sea  coast  and  those  of  the  Macedonian  frontier,  the 
former  being  more  Oriental  than  the  latter,  and  not  so  advanced  in 
civilization,  while  in  neither  district  is  the  manner  of  living  of  the 
people  high,  or  even  comfortable  according  to  Western  ideas.  The 
Greeks  of  the  Black  Sea  coast  make  but  little  complaint  of  Turkish 
mismanagement,  while  in  Macedonia  it  is  a  common  topic  of  conver- 
sation, and  the  popular  mind  is  still  embittered  by  the  remembrance 
of  the  atrocities  committed  during  the  Grecian  war  of  independence. 
Yet  Baker  relates,  in  his  "  Turkey,"  that  even  during  the  excitement 
attendant  upon  the  Herzegovinian  insurrection,  the  Christians  of  Sa- 
lonica  gave  an  amateur  concert  for  the  benefit  of  the  Turkish  wound- 
ed, which  was  attended  by  the  Turkish  Governor-General  and  his 
staff,  with  other  Turks,  the  proceeds  of  which  were  three  hundred 
pounds  sterling. 

The  Greeks  also  form  an  important  part  of  the  population  of  the 
sea  coasts  of  Asia  Minor.  Being  a  trading  and  sea-faring  people, 
they  congregate  at  the  commercial  towns  and  the  shipping  points 
throughout  the  Levant.  They  share  with  the  Armenians  in  the  gen- 
eral trade  of  the  country,  but  so  far,  at  least,  as  the  Turkish  popula- 
tions are  concerned,  they  control  that  which  depends  on  the  sea. 
Before  the  Turkish  conquest,  Asia  Minor  was  a  Grecian  country. 
As  this  region  was  occupied  by  the  Moslems  some  centuries  before 
Constantinople  fell  into  their  hands,  the  mass  of  the  Greek  popula- 
tion removed  to  Europe.  For  several  centuries,  Asia  Minor  has 
been,  except  as  to  its  commercial  towns,  an  almost  purely  Turkish 
country.  Since,  however,  the  Empire  has  entered  into  more  general 
relations  with  Western  Europe,  and  its  trade  has  been  developed, 

.the  Greeks  have  increased  in  numbers  and  been  more  conspicuous, 
and  at  present  their  influence  is  growing  very  fast. 

The  island  of  Crete  (now  commonly  called  Candia)  has  attracted 
more  attention  in  recent  years  than  any  other  of  the  Greek  provinces 
of  Turkey.  It  lies  in  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  south-east  of  Greece, 
and  is  the  central  and  largest  of  the  series  of  islands  which,  stretch- 
ing from  the  southern  points  of  Greece  to  the  south-western  angle  of 


156  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Asia  Minor,  seem  to  enclose  the  Archipelago,  or  ^Egean  Sea.  It  is 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  long,  and  from  six  to  thirty-five 
miles  wide,  and  presents  a  mass  of  mountains,  the  highest  of  which, 
Mount  Ida,  near  the  center  of  the  island,  is  7,674  feet  in  height.  The 
island  is  extraordinarily  rich  in  associations  with  the  most  ancient 
mythology  and  classical  traditions  of  the  Greek  race.  The  inhabit- 
ants, who  number  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand,  are  reck- 
oned to  be  three-quarters  Christians  and  one-quarter  Mohammedans. 
In  many  points  of  government  the  Cretans  have  less  to  complain  of 
than  the  people  of  some  of  the  other  provinces ;  the  taxes  are  not 
heavy  ;  no  military  service  or  poll-tax  is  required  of  them,  and  local 
liberty  is  to  a  great  extent  secured.  Nevertheless,  a  bitter  jealousy  pre- 
vails between  the  Christians  and  Mohammedans ;  and  though  all  avow- 
edly possess  equal  rights  and  privileges,  the  Mohammedans  receive  the 
practical  favor  of  the  Government,  and  are  enabled,  or  are  supposed 
to  be  enabled,  to  domineer  over  their  fellow-subjects.  Discontent 
has  prevailed  very  widely  throughout  the  island  for  many  years,  and 
culminated  in  the  insurrection  of  1866,  which  came  very  near  pre- 
cipitating a  new  crisis  in  the  Eastern  Question,  and  which  the  Gov- 
ernment put  down  only  after  a  long  contest  and  with  great  difficulty. 
The  Government  has  endeavored  to  pacify  the  people  by  making 
them  a  few  concessions  and  giving  them  Christian  Governors ;  but 
the  affairs  of  t':e  island  have  continued  to  be  very  disturbed.  The 
danger  of  a  new  outbreak  seemed  very  imminent  throughout  the 
wars  from  1875  to  1877,  so  that  much  of  the  attention  of  the  Gov- 
ernment was  directed  toward  devising  means  to  preserve  order,  and 
a  force  had  to  be  spared  from  the  active  army  to  be  ready  to  repress 
any  disturbance,  should  one  break  out. 

The  Greeks  of  Turkey  preserve,  in  only  a  slightly  modified  de- 
gree, all  the  predominant  traits  of  their  ancestors.  The  modern 
Greek  language  is  quite  as  nearly  like  the  ancient  Greek  as  are  any 
of  the  languages  of  Latin  Europe,  the  German,  or  the  Russian  lan- 
guage, to  the  tongues  from  which  they  are  descended.  The  social 
customs,  folk  lore,  superstitions,  manners,  art-tastes,  utensils  of 
domestic  and  agricultural  use,  and  dress  of  the  present  Greeks 
bear  a  striking  resemblance  to  those  of  the  ancients.  A  systematic 
effort  has  been  making  in  the  Kingdom  of  Greece  since  the  revolu- 
tion to  restore  as  much  of  the  ancient  classical  life  as  is  consistent 
with  modern  conditions,  with  a  suec  ess  that  is  remarkable,  and  is 
almost  complete  with  respect  to  the  language. 


TURKE Y'S  TRIE U TAR  Y  STA  TES  AND  SUB  JECTS.      \  5 7 

The  red  cap  of  the  modern  Greek  preserves  the  sailor's  cap  which 
is  painted  in  the  same  color  on  the  ancient  vases,  and  the  Phrygian 
cap  of  old  is  worn  by  the  shepherds  of  Arcadia.  Greek  brides 
wear  a  stomacher  formed  of  silver  pieces  sewed  together,  which 
recalls  the  silver  breast-plate  of  Minerva.  The  ear-rings,  necklaces, 
and  bracelets  of  the  women  are  like  thosa  of  the  ancients,  and  they 
sprinkle  their  hair  with  gold-powder  and  stain  the  tips  of  their  fin- 
gers with  red,  just  as  they  did  in  the  days  of  Homer.  The  ancient 
Phrygian  dress,  which  the  Greek  colonists  adopted  in  early  days,  is 
still  worn  in  Asia  Minor,  by  both  Turks  and  Greeks.  Even  the 
turban,  which  till  recently  has  been  held  as  a  distinctive  mark  of  a 
Turk,  is  not  Turkish,  but  is  a  gift  of  the  Asiatic  Greeks  to  their 
conquerors. 

According  to  Kohl,  in  his  "People  of  Europe,"  the  Grecian 
Palikar,  or  countryman,  wears  a  colored  vest,  open  before  and  em- 
broidered on  the  edges,  and  over  that  a  short  jacket  of  the  same 
material,  richly  embroidered,  while  from  his  shoulders  hangs  a 
colored,  embroidered  over-garment,  with  open,  free-flowing  sleeves. 
A  broad  belt,  colored  and  ornamented,  is  buckled  around  his  waist, 
in  which  he  carries  his  pistols  and  dagger.  From  his  waist  depends 
to  below  his  knees  a  white  linen  skirt,  folded  into  numerous  narrow 
plaits,  which  is  called  ihefustanella.  The  fustanella  of  the  island- 
ers is  often  blue.  The  legs  from  the  knees  down  are  covered  with 
white  hose,  or  with  tight,  colored  gaiters  adorned  with  embroidery  or 
tassels,  the  feet  with  red,  pointed  shoes.  A  coarse,  brown,  hooded 
cloak  embroidered  with  blue,  covering  the  whole  upper  part  of  the 
body,  completes  the  costume.  The  dress  of  the  women  is  different 
in  different  places.  It  generally  consists  of  a  woolen  frock,  reach- 
ing from  the  neck  to  the  feet,  which  is  girdled  at  the  waist  with  a 
broad,  shawl-like  cloth.  A  shorter  over-garment  completes  the  cos- 
tume. The  fez  is  worn  by  both  sexes. 

Colonies  of  Circassians  have  been  settled  around  the  Black  Sea 
since  1864,  when  the  Russians  having  conquered  the  Caucasus,  forced 
the  former  inhabitants  of  that  region  to  remove  from  their  homes. 
A  part  of  these  people,  who  refused  to  accept  the  lands  on  the 
steppes  which  were  offered  them  by  Russia,  were  given  homes  and  a 
refuge  on  the  soil  of  Turkey.  They  are  supposed-to  number  at  this 
time  about  two  hundred  thousand  souls  in  European  Turkey,  where 
they  are  settled  principally  along  the  Black  Sea  coast.  They  are 
strict  Mohammedans,  live  in  the  simplest  style  in  obscure  villages, 


158  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

cultivate  the  soil  in  a  careless  manner,  are  courteous  and  hospitable 
in  an  eminent  degree,  and,  like  the  ancient  Spartans,  are  proud  of 
their  skill  as  thieves.  Their  women  are  brought  up  to  be  sold  to 
foreign  harems,  and  look  forward,  says  Baker,*  "  to  entry  into  that 
life  as  a  young  lady  in  England  does  to  '  coming  out.' "  Their 
families  being  represented  in  the  household  of  the  high  officers  and 
wealthy  people  at  Constantinople,  they  have  influence  at  court  and 
know  how  to  use  it,  both  for  their  own  advancement  and  for  protec- 
tion against  the  consequences  of  their  depredations  and  disorderly 
conduct. 

The  Armenians  are  the  descendants  of  the  people  who  once 
owned  and  ruled  the  whole  of  Armenia,  those  parts  which  are  in- 
cluded in  Russian  and  Persian  Armenia,  as  well  as  the  Turkish  prov- 
inces. They  have  an  ancient  and  honorable  history,  of  which 
traces  are  found  in  connection  with  the  records  of  the  most  flourish- 
ing periods  of  the  Assyrian  and  Egyptian  Empires.  In  the  thou- 
sand years  around  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era,  they  played  an 
important  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  Eastern  nations.  They  now 
form  an  integral  part  of  the  population  of  the  three  Armenias, 
so  much  so  as  to  give  them  the  character  of  a  Christian  district, 
surrounded  by  Mohammedan  tribes,  but  are  probably  more  numer- 
ous at  the  present  day  in  other  parts  of  their  three  sovereign  States 
than  in  the  home  of  their  fathers.  Their  present  total  number  is 
variously  estimated  at  from  3,000,000  to  6,000,000,  and  it  is  thought 
that  there  are  about  two  and  a  quarter  millions  of  them  in  the  Turk- 
ish Empire  alone. 

The  Armenians  claim  that  they  were  the  first  to  embrace  Chris- 
tianity as  a  nation,  and  the  claim  seems  to  be  well  established  by 
the  evidence  cited  by  the  historian,  St.  Martin.  "  About  the  year 
276,"  says  Dean  Milman,  "  Christianity  was  the  religion  of  the  king, 
the  nobles,  and  the  people  of  Armenia."  This  was  thirty  years 
before  the  accession  of  Constantino  made  Christianity  fashionable 
in  the  Roman  Empire.  Ever  since  that  period  the  Armenians  have 
been  known  as  Christians,  and  have  formed  a  distinct  branch  of  the 
Christian  Church,  next  among  the  Oriental  Churches  in  importance 
after  the  Greek  Church.  The  services  of  the  Church  are  still  per- 
formed in  the  ancient  Armenian  language,  a  tongue  which  the 
people  fondly  believe  to  have  been  the  original  speech  of  the 
human  race.  Nine  orders  of  clergy  are  recognized,  the  chief  of 

*"  Turkey,  "p.  101. 


TURKE  Y'S  TRIE  UTAR  Y  STA  TES  AND  SUB  JECTS.      1 59 

which  is  the  Catholicos,  or  Patriarch.  The  principal  convent  of  the 
Church  is  at  Etchmiadzin,  in  the  Russian  province  of  Erivan,  and 
the  patriarch  who  resides  there  is  recognized  as  the  head  of  the 
whole  Church,  everywhere  except  in  a  small  district  on  Lake  Yan, 
which  has  a  patriarch  with  rival  claims  to  supremacy.  Other  patri- 
archs reside  at  Jerusalem  and  Constantinople.  The  Patriarch  of 
Constantinople  is  the  civil  head  of  all  the  Armenians  in  Turkey, 
and  is  practically  independent  of  the  Catholicos  at  Etchmiadzin,  but 
recognizes  an  inferiority  in  rank  to  him.  The  Patriarch  of  Etch- 
miadzin has  immediate  jurisdiction  of  all  the  Armenians  in  Russia 
and  Turkey.  He  is  elected  by  the  synod,  subject  to  the  approval 
of  the  Czar. 

The  remains  of  the  ancient  prosperity  and  supremacy  of  Chris- 
tianity in  Armenia  are  found  all  over  the  country  in  the  shape 
of  the  ruins  of  churches  and  other  ecclesiastical  buildings.  The 
numerous  changes  and  conquests  to  which  the  country  has  been 
subjected  have,  however,  driven  the  majority  of  its  proper  in- 
habitants away,  so  that  the  Armenians  are  now  widely  scattered. 
Wherever  they  go,  however,  they  carry  with  them  the  love  of  their 
country,  and  cherish  their  religion  and  literature.  Wherever  they 
are  found,  too,  they  generally  form  a  respectable  part  of  the  popu- 
lation. They  are  the  merchants  of  all  the  interior  towns  of  Turkey 
and  in  Persia,  and  parts  of  Russia  and  South-eastern  Europe  share 
with  the  Greeks  the  trade  of  the  great  commercial  towns,  and  have 
extensive  business  relations  at  home  and  abroad.  They  often  also 
attain  official  positions,  where  they  prove  to  be  at  least  as  efficient 
and  faithful  as  native  Turks  and  Russians ;  and  it  is  worthy  of 
note  that  General  Melikoff,  the  active  commander  of  the  Russian 
forces  in  Armenia,  and  General  Tergukasoff,  who  proved  himself 
probably  one  of  the  most  skillful  general  officers  in,  the  Russian 
army,  are  both  Armenians. 

The  Armenians  have  a  literature  of  considerable  antiquity,  which 
they  prize.  They  have  also  made  much  literary  progress  recently, 
and  had,  at  the  close  of  the  year  1871,  thirteen  newspapers,  pub- 
lished at  Constantinople.  They  have  received  much  attention  from 
American  Missionary  Societies,  which  have  built  up  flourishing 
missions  and-  schools  among  them  at  Van,  Bitlis,  _and  Erzerum,  in 
Armenia,  and  at  several  points  in  Asia  Minor. 

A  branch  of  the  Armenian  Church,  called  the  United  Armenians, 
acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope.  They  are  noted  for  the 


160  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

flourishing  schools  which  have  been  established  by  the  celebrated  Or- 
der of  the  Mekhitarists,  and  which  have  educated  some  of  the  best 
Turkish  scholars  among  the  Christians  in  the  Government  service. 

The  mountains  of  the  south-eastern  coast  of  the  Black  Sea  are 
inhabited  by  a  people  of  the  Grusian  or  Georgian  stock  called  the 
Lasis.  They  are  described  by  Kasbek*  as  a  people  of  prepossessing 
appearance,  remarkably  neat  in  their  clothing,  of  considerable  in- 
tellectual development,  and  as  living  in  much  comfort. 

The  houses  of  the  common  people  throughout  Armenia  are 
generally  earth  huts,  partly  dug  out  of  the  sides  of  the  hills,  partly 
consisting  of  adjoining  outside  structures  of  timber,  covered  wiih  a 
roof  of  sod.  It  is  a  feature  of  the  regions  in  which  this  style  of 
building  prevails,  that  while  to  one  looking  over  the  country  from 
certain  positions,  it  will  appear  quite  uninhabited,  one  coming  into  it 
from  other  directions  will  find  the  same  spots  full  of  houses  and  peo- 
ple. The  more  wealthy  inhabitants  live  in  houses  of  a  better  style. 

The  Maronites  are  a  sect  of  Christians  in  Syria,  who  acknowledge 
the  authority  of  the  Pope.  They  number  about  one  hundred  and 
forty  thousand  persons,  are  generally  farmers,  poor,  honest,  and 
hospitable.  They  are  governed  by  a  patriarch,  whose  election  is 
subject  to  the  confirmation  of  the  Pope  and  bishops.  Their  priests 
are  allowed  to  marry,  and  number  about  twelve  hundred.  They 
have  four  hundred  churches,  and  about  one-half  of  the  two  hundred 
convents  of  the  Lebanon  district,  in  which  are  from  20,000  to 
25,000  monks.  They  have  also  nunneries,  which  are  built  at  a 
distance  from  the  convents,  and  have  no  intercourse  with  them 
except  on  the  occasion  of  administering  the  sacraments.  The 
Maronites  speak  the  Arabic  language,  and  have  selections  from  the 
Bible  and  other  sacred  books  in  their  tongue.  These  people  were 
united  in  the  former  part  of  the  last  century  as  to  civil  and  political 
government  into  a  community  with  the  Druses.  The  two  sects 
afterward  became  separated  frpm  each  other  and  alienated,  and 
finally  hostile.  A  personal  quarrel  between  Maronites  and  Druses, 
in  1859,  became  the  occasion  of  a  war  of  extermination  by  the 
Druses  upon  the  Maronites,  which  led  to  the  outbreaks  of  1860  in 
Syria,  and  brought  an  interference  and  settlement  by  foreign 
powers.  Since  that  time  a  special  Governor  has  been  provided  for 
the  Lebanon  district. 

The  Druses  are  a  people  of  a  peculiar  race  and  religion,  numbering 

*  Colonel  Kasbek,  "  Three  Months  in  Turkish  Grusia." 


TURKEY'S  TRIBUTARY  STATES  AND  SUBJECTS.      161 

in  all  about  seventy  thousand  persons,  who  live  in  the  mountains  of 
Syria.  They  have  religious  books  and  methods  of  worship,  which 
they  are  not  willing  to  expose  to  strangers,  so  that  a  complete  ac- 
count of  their  doctrine  and  usages  is  hard  to  obtain.  Their  govern- 
ment is  partly  feudal.  They  are  warlike  and  courageous,  a  people 
of  simple  and  primitive  habits,  who  earn  their  subsistence  by  culti- 
vating the  soil  and  working  at  mechanical  trades.  The  women  oc- 
cupy a  comparatively  high  position,  in  which  their  rights  are  recog- 
nized and  protected;  their  occupations  are  weaving  and  spinning. 
The  man  is  the  husband  of  one  wife.  The  villages  of  the  Druses 
are  usually  built  in  mountain  passes,  where  they  rise  in  terraces  up 
the  sides  of  the  hills.  These  people  form  a  considerable  part  of  the 
population,  and  exercise  much  influence  in  the  towns  at  the  foot  of 
Mount  Hermon. 

The  Kurds  are  a  race  of  Mohammedans  who  inhabit  the  large  ter- 
ritory called  Kurdistan,  which,  lying  south  of  Armenia,  is  mostly 
included  in  Turkey,  but  partly  in  Persia.  Their  numbers  are  vari- 
ously estimated  at  from  eight  hundred  thousand  to  three  million 
persons.  About  one  hundred  thousand  of  them  are  Christians  of 
the  i^estorian  Church.  They  have  a  light  complexion,  an  animated 
physiognomy,  sharp,  delicate  features,  and  neat  frames ;  are  good 
horsemen,  skilled  in  the  use  of  arms,  and  fond  of  plunder,  although 
hospitable.  They  are  partly  settled  and  partly  nomadic.  Their 
houses  are  of  stone,  often  furnished  with  a  kind  of  tower ;  besides 
their  homes,  they  have  retreats  in  the  fastnesses  of  the  mount- 
ains, to  which  they  retire  when  danger  is  present  in  the  coun- 
try. They  are  divided  into  numerous  tribes,  which  are  often  at 
war  with  each  other,  and  some  of  which,  especially  those  in  Per- 
sia, are  very  wild.  They  acknowledge  the  general  authority  of  the 
Sultan,  but  will  not  submit  to  a  close  government.  Women  have 
a  higher  position  among  them  than  among  either  the  Turks  or  the 
Persians.  They  do  not  veil  themselves,  except  among  the  higher 
classes,  and  are  treated  with  comparative  respect  and  deference.. 
The  Kurdish  costume  is  like  that  of  the  Turks.  The  men  wear  a 
cloak  of  black  goats'  hair  and  a  red  cap  wound  with  a  silk  shawl 
which  falls  over  the  shoulders.  Travelers  give  varying  accounts  of 
the  character  of  the  Kurds,  according  to  the  degree  of  culture  or  the 
friendly  or  hostile  moods  of  the  tribes  which  they  meet.  The  Kurd- 
ish irregular  troops  in  Armenia  have  given  a  very  disgraceful  ac- 
count of  themselves  in  the  present  war. 
9 


1 62  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

The  most  important  African  tributary  of  Turkey  is  Egypt.  Egypt 
proper  contains  an  area  of  212,607  square  miles,  and  a  population  of 
about  five  and  a  quarter  million  persons.  Nubia,  which  is  politi- 
cally a  part  of  Egypt,  though  ethnographically  distinct,  contains  a 
population  of  about  two  and  one-half  millions  more.  The  Khedive 
has  made  large  additions  to  the  dominions  of  the  country  by  con- 
quests along  the  Upper  Nile  nearly  to  the  equator,  which  swell  the 
extent  of  the  territory  subject  to  Egypt  to  a  total  of  869,389  square 
miles,  and  the  population  to  16,922,000.  Egypt  is  the  most  ancient 
country  in  the  world  of  which  the  history  survives,  the  records  in- 
scribed upon  its  monuments  extending  back  to  a  period  which  is 
reckoned,  according  to  the  various  methods  of  computing  chronology, 
at  from  three  thousand  to  five  thousand  years  before  Christ,  and  far 
antedating  all  other  existing  records,  except  the  books  of  Moses, 
and,  perhaps,  one  or  two  documents  recently  exhumed  from  Nine- 
veh. It  was  conquered  by  the  Persians  525  B.C.,  then  by  Alexander 
the  Great,  then  by  the  Romans,  30  B.C.  Under  the  Roman  Empire 
it  became  an  important  Christian  State,  and  Alexandria  was  a  noted 
seat  of  theological  learning  and  institutions.  It  was  conquered  by 
the  Saracens,  A.D.  683,  and  by  the  Turks  in  1517".  It  has  advanced 
gradually  toward  independence  since  Mehemet  Ali  became  Viceroy 
in  1806.  The  Khedive  is  absolute  sovereign,  subject  to  the  chiefly 
nominal  allegiance  which  he  owes  to  the  Porte,  and  governs  with 
the  assistance  of  a  Council  of  State,  of  four  military  and  four  civil 
dignitaries.  The  revenue  of  the  country  was  calculated  in  the  offi- 
cial budget  of  1874  at  about  $49,559,850.  It  maintains  a  separate 
army  and  navy  from  those  of  Turkey.  Its  commerce  is  large,  but 
consists,  to  some  extent,  of  goods  carried  in  transit.  The  exports 
for  1873  amounted  to  $72,500,000,  and  the  imports  to  $30,000,000. 
The  total  debt  of  the  Yiceroyalty  as  fixed  by  Messrs.  Goschen  and 
Joubert,  representing  the  English  and  French  creditors  in  1875-'76, 
is  £76,000,000,  or  $380,000,000:  This  large  amount  of  indebtedness 
has  been  incurred  through  extravagance  in  constructing  internal 
improvements  and  building  up  business  enterprises  which,  although 
they  promise  to  contribute  to  the  future  prosperity  and  resources  of 
the  country,  impose  at  present  a  heavy  load  upon  the  Government 
and  the  people.  The  principal  work  of  improvement  is  the  Suez 
Canal,  which  has  been  cut  across  the  Isthmus  of  Suez,  and  connects 
the  Mediterranean  and  Red  Seas.  The  total  length  of  the  canal  is 
ninety-two  miles ;  it  has  capacity  for  vessels  drawing  twenty-five  feet 


TURKEY'S  TRIBUTARY  STATES  AND  SUBJECTS.      163 

nine  inches  of  water,  and  was  built  at  a  total  cost  of  $94,393,645. 
More  than  thirteen  hundred  miles  of  railway  have  been  built  in 
Egypt  proper ;  the  telegraph  wires  extend  over  5,500  miles,  and 
other  lines  of  railway  and  telegraph  are  contemplated,  which  will  be 
pushed  into  the  heart  of  Africa.  A  system  of  irrigation  canals  has 
been  constructed,  which  involved  the  removal  of  sixty-five  per  cent, 
more  material  than  the  Suez  Canal.  Great  harbor  works  have  been 
begun  at  Alexandria,  which  will  cost  when  completed  more  than  ten 
millions  of  dollars.  In  addition  to  these  public  works,  the  Khedive  has 
built  sugar  refineries  and  cotton  manufactories  and  numerous  palaces 
and  public  buildings.  Besides  the  University  at  Cairo,  and  the  schools 
connected  with  the  Mosques,  which  have  a  reputation  co-extensive 
with  the  Mohammedan  world,  but  which  are  not  much  above  the 
level  of  other  Mohammedan  schools,  Egypt  has  a  number  of  schools 
formed  partly  after  the  European  model,  which  are  of  a  better  grade 
and  better  attended  than  the  similar  schools  in  Turkey.  Among 
them  are  several  special  and  technical  schools ;  two  girls'  schools, 
formed  by  the  wives  of  the  Khedive;  elementary  schools,  and  a 
school  for  the  blind.  Several  excellent  schools,  an  academy,  and  a 
theological  school,  the  two  latter  at  Sioot,  in  Upper  Egypt,  have 
been  established  in  connection  with  the  Missions  of  the  United  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  North  America.  Several  schools  have  been  also 
established  by  the  Roman  Catholics,  the  Greek,  Italian,  German, 
and  French  residents.  As  a  whole,  Egypt  offers  better  facilities  for 
education  than  any  other  predominantly  Mohammedan  State. 

The  leading  races  inhabiting  Egypt  are  the  Arabs  and  the  Copts. 
The  Arabs  are  by  far  the  most  numerous  race,  numbering  between 
four  and  four  and  one-half  millions.  The  Arabs  of  the  better  class 
in  the  cities  are  a  courteous  people,  strict  Mohammedans,  and  fair 
representatives  of  the  East,  as  pictured  in  the  "Arabian  Nights," 
many  of  the  scenes  of  which  are  laid  in  Cairo.  The  rural  Arabs, 
called  Fellaheen,  or  Fellahs,  form  the  chief  part  of  the  peasantry, 
or  working  people  of  the  country,  and  are  among  the  most  miser- 
ably situated  people  on  the  earth.  Their  life  is  one  of  the  meanest 
drudgery,  by  which  they  gain  a  bare  subsistence.  They  are  subject 
to  all  sorts  of  oppression  and  extortion  from  the  local  oflScers,  who 
being  instructed  to  return  a  certain  amount  of  revenue  to  the  Gov- 
ernment, collect  the  amount  and  their  own  commissions  by  force. 
Flogging  with  the  bastinado  to  compel  the  payment  of  taxes  is  a 
regular  feature  of  Egyptian  peasant  life.  It  has  come  down  from 


164  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

time  immemorial,  and  is  more  a  custom  than  a  sign  of  real  oppres- 
sion. The  Fellah,  though  he  may  be  perfectly  able,  prides  himself 
upon  refusing  to  pay  the  taxes,  until  he  has  compelled  the  collector 
to  administer  a  certain  number  of  blows  to  him,  and  would  be 
ashamed  to  yield  too  easily.  With  all  their  misery,  the  Fellahs  are 
a  fine,  muscular  race,  well-proportioned,  "with  fine  oval  faces, 
bright,  deep-set,  black  eyes,  straight,  thick  noses,  large,  but  well- 
formed  mouths,  full  lips,  beautiful  teeth,  broad  shoulders,  and  well- 
shaped  limbs,"  and  are  "  the  most  patient,  the  most  home-loving, 
and  withal'  the  merriest  race  in  the  world."*  The  women  have 
much  beauty  when  young,  but  wither  rapidly  after  they  have  passed 
their  teens.  Girls  are  considered  marriageable  at  from  twelve  to 
eighteen  years  of  age.  The  condition  of  the  peasantry  appears  to 
be  the  same  now  that  it  was  five  thousand  years  ago,  and  seems  to 
have  undergone  no  change  during  the  whole  history  of  the  country, 
through  all  its  various  dynasties. 

The  Copts  are  descendants  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians,  and  until 
recently  spoke  a  language  whose  derivation  from  that  of  the  ancient 
inhabitants  was  shown  both  in  its  structure  and  in  the  form  of  its 
written  characters.  They  are  Christians,  and  form  a  distinct  branch 
of  the  Christian  Church,  the  Coptic  Church.  This  Church  is  Mono- 
physite  in  doctrine,  that  is,  it  ascribes  but  one  nature  to  Christ,  and 
is  similar  in  its  general  doctrines  and  practices  to  the  Abyssinian 
Church.  It  is  governed  by  a  Patriarch,  chosen  by  itself,  and  bishops, 
and  possesses  an  independent  translation  of  the  Bible  in  the  Coptic 
language.  The  Copts  associate  readily  with  the  Mohammedans, 
from  whom  they  are  distinguished  chiefly  by  wearing  a  black  turban, 
and  have  adopted  many  Mohammedan  customs.  As  a  consequence, 
they  intermarry  freely  with  Mohammedans,  and  conversions  to  Is- 
lamism  are  easily  made,  and  frequent  among  them.  Thus  the  purity 
of  their  stock  has  been  impaired,  and  it  is  probable  that  a  consider- 
able part  of  the  race  is  represented  among  the  population  who  are 
classed  as  Arabs. 

The  Egyptian  Government  has  employed  European  and  American 
officers  of  tested  ability  in  various  branches  of  administrative  and 
practical  work,  with  great  advantage  to  the  interests  of  the  country. 
Some  of  its  native  officers  have  received  a  good  European  education. 
The  Minister  of  War,  who  is  the  third  son  of  the  Khedive,  has 


*  McCoan,  "  Egypt  as  It  Is,"  (London,  1877). 


TURKEY'S  TRIBUTARY  STATES  AND  SUBJECTS.      165 

completed  a  university  course,  and  received  tlie  degree  of  D.C.L. 
from  the  University  of  Oxford,  in  England. 

Tripoli  and  Barca,  with  Fezzan,  constitute  a  province  lying  west 
of  Egypt,  and  between  it  and  Tunis.  The  area  of  the  province  is 
about  344,400  square  miles,  or  considerably  more  than  that  of  the 
German  Empire,  but  the  population  will  hardly  reach  a  million,  of 
whom  all  but  a  few  thousand  Christians  and  Jews  are  Mohammedans. 
Although  the  country  consists  largely  of  desert,  it  could  easily  sup- 
port a  much  greater  population.  A  fraction  of  the  province,  called 
Cyoenaica,  contained  in  ancient  times  as  many  inhabitants  as  the 
whole  now  has.  Tripoli  is  wholly  subject  to  Turkey. 

Tunis,  the  farthest  west  of  the  African  provinces  of  Turkey,  lies 
northwest  of  Tripoli,  between  that  province  and  Algeria.  It  has  an 
area  of  about  45,000  square  miles,  and  a  population  of  between 
1,200,000  and  2,000,000.  The  Bey  holds  his  title  as  a  fief  of  the 
Sultan,  without  whose  authority  he  can  not  declare  war,  conclude 
peace,  or  cede  territory,  whose  name  must  appear  on  all  the  coinage, 
and  to  whom  he  is  obliged  to  pay  a  tribute,  and  to  furnish  a  contin- 
gent of  troops  when  demanded.  Practically,  except  as  to  the  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  Sultan's  authority,  the  payment  of  the  tribute 
and  furnishing  the  contingent,  he  is  independent.  The  climate  of 
the  country  is  good,  the  soil  is  fertile  and  productive,  and  trade  in 
a  considerable  variety  of  products  is  active  and  profitable.  The 
exports  in  1876  were  valued  at  $3,292,000,  and  the  imports  at 
$2,274,000.  A  large  part  of  the  trade,  as  well  as  of  that  of  Tripoli, 
is  by  caravans  with  the  interior  of  Africa,  whence  are  brought 
senna,  gums,  ostrich  feathers,  gold,  and  ivory.  Forty  miles  of  rail- 
way are  in  operation  within  the  province,  and  French  telegraph  lines 
have  been  extended  to  various  parts  of  the  country,  connecting  it 
with  Algeria  and  Europe. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  INSURRECTION    OF    1875,    AND   THE   WARS   OF   1876. 

Complaints  of  the  Christian  Subjects  of  European  Turkey — The  Insurrection  in  Her- 
zegovina and  Bosnia — Efforts  to  Suppress  it — The  Great  Powers  seek  to  Prevent  its 
Spreading — Futile  Efforts  of  Diplomacy — Schemes  of  Reform — The  Andrassy  and 
Berlin  Notes— The  Massacre  of  Consuls  at  Salonica,  and  the  Bulgarian  Atrocities- 
Views  and  Reports  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  Mr.  Baring,  and  Eugene  Schuyler  on  the  Mas- 
sacres in  Bulgaria — Servia  and  Montenegro  make  War  upon  Turkey — Details  of  the 
Campaign — Defeat  of  the  Servians — An  Armistice  Granted — Conference  of  the  Pow- 
ers at  Constantinople — Lord  Salisbury,  the  British,  and  Count  Chaudordy,  the  French, 
Representative  at  the  Conference — The  Turkish  Constitution — Plan  of  the  Confer- 
ence for  the  Settlement  of  Difficulties— It  is  Rejected  by  Turkey— The  Protocol— It 
is  Rejected — Conclusion  of  Peace  between  Turkey  and  Servia — The  Turkish  Parlia- 
ment. 

CHRISTIAN  tenants  in  the  European  provinces  of  Turkey  have  fre- 
quently complained  of  oppressions  inflicted  upon  them  by  the  Mus- 
sulman landowners,  under  whom  they  hold,  and  their  grievances 
have  often  been  the  occasion  of  local  disturbances.  Such  complaints 
were  more  than  usually  numerous  in  Herzegovina  and  Northern  Al- 
bania in  the  spring  of  1875.  Many  Christian  families  at  this  time 
fled  to  Montenegro  for  security  against  the  hard  treatment  they  were 
receiving.  In  the  middle  of  July,  the  people  of  two  small  villages 
on  the  Narenta  River,  near  Nevesigne,  offered  resistance  to  the  col- 
lection of  taxes.  The  Turkish  troops  undertook  to  quell  the  dis- 
turbance, but  the  insurgents  defeated  them  after  a  fight  of  fifteen 
hours,  and  occupied  their  position.  This  success  having  been  gained, 
others  were  encouraged  to  join  in  the  resistance  ;  the  revolt  spread  to 
the  neighboring  towns,  and  finally  involved  all  of  Southern  Herze- 
govina, to  the  borders  of  Montenegro.  Every  advantage  gained  over 
the  Turks  helped  to  increase  the  number  of  the  insurgents.  The 
families  and  cattle  of  the  people  were  sent  to  Montenegro  and  Dal- 
matia,  while  the  able-bodied  men  joined  the  military  bands.  The 
bags,  or  landowners,  likewise  formed  their  dependents  into  bands  to 
oppose  the  insurgents,  arid  an  irregular  war  of  outrage  ^id  plunder 
ensued.  The  Turkish  Government  tried  to  quiet  the  disturbance  by 

sending  a  commission  to  inquire  into  the  grievance  of  the  people 
(166) 


SERVIAN    SOLDIERS. 


INSURRECTION  OF  1875,  AND  WARS  OF  1876.  169 

and  offer  redress,  but  without  success.  It  then  sent  a  force  of  troops, 
which  were  dispatched  by  sea  and  landed,  with  the  permission  of 
the  Austrian  Government,  at  the  Austrian  seaport  of  Klek,  and 
marched  the  short  remaining  distance  to  the  scene  of  the  insurrec- 
tion. On  the  6th  of  August  the  insurgents  surrounded  the  Turkish 
fort  at  Trebigne,  and  cut  it  off  from  its  supplies.  The  first  troops 
landed  at  Klek  were  sent  to  the  relief  of  this  place,  which  they  ef- 
fected, defeating  and  dispersing  the  insurgents  on  the  20th  of  Au- 
gust, and  clearing  the  way  to  Mostar. 

In  the  meantime,  the  insurrection  had  spread  to  Bosnia.  It  broke 
out  at  Banialuka,  in  the  northern  part  of  that  Yilayet,  on  the  16th 
of  August.  Some  mounted  Turks  had  ridden  through  this  town  and 
killed  a  number  of  Christian  workmen  while  quietly  attending  to 
their  business.  The  complaints  of  the  friends  of  the  murdered  men 
before  the  magistrates  not  having  been  attended  to,  an  excitement 
arose  over  the  affair,  which  led  to  an  open  conflict  between  the  Mo- 
hammedans and  Christians  in  the  streets  of  the  town.  The  Chris- 
tians were  beaten,  and  fled  to  the  nearest  towns  for  safety.  Bands 
of  Bosnians  were  immediately  formed  for  resistance  at  various 
points.  Their  proceedings  were,  however,  for  several  months  con- 
ducted without  any  energy,  and  with  no  fixed  plan. 

Immediately  on  the  occurrence  of  the  outbreak  in  Herzegovina, 
the  Governments  of  Germany,  Austria,  and  .Russia,  after  consulta- 
tion with  each  other,  notified  Turkey  that  she  must  suppress  the 
insurrection  at  once ;  when  the  movement  extended  to  Bosnia,  they 
offered  their  friendly  offices  to  the  Porte,  stipulating,  however,  that 
concessions  to  the  wants  of  the  Christian  population  would  be  essen- 
tial to  an  effective  pacification.  The  Porte  at  first  declined  this 
offer ;  but  France  and  Italy  afterward  joined  in  it,  and  on  the  22d 
of  September  the  Ambassadors  of  the  five  powers  proposed  that  the 
Consuls  of  their  respective  Governments  should  go  into  the  insurgent 
districts  and  confer  directly  with  the  chiefs  of  the  insurrection 
respecting  a  cessation  of  hostilities.  The  Porte  assented  to  this 
proposition,  and  named  Server  Pasha  as  its  representative  to  attend 
the  conference.  The  meeting  was  to  be  held  at  Mostar,  on  the  3d 
of  September.  The  Consuls  of  the  five  Western  Powers  and  the: 
Turkish  representative  attended  punctually,  but  not  an  insurgent 
was  present.  The  chiefs  had  previously  held  a  consultation  on  the 
27th  of  August,  at  the  cloister  of  Kosierovo,  and  had  resolved  upon 
a  better  organization  of  the  insurrection,  and  had  decided,  as  to  the 


I/O 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


proposals  of  the  Consuls,  that  they  would  listen  to  them,  but  avoid 
giving  any  definite  answer  to  them. 

The  chiefs  who  participated  in  this  council  were  Liubibratish, 
who  was  at  that  time  the  recognized  head  of  the  movement  ;  Lazar 
Sotchitza,  Luka  Petkovitch,  Bozevitch  (an  Albanian),  and  Peko 
Paulovitch  (a  Montenegrin),  who  subsequently  displaced  Liubibratish 
as  leader.  The  Consuls  having  failed  to  bring  the  insurgents  to  a 
conference,  next  agreed  to  separate  into  groups  and  visit  the  chiefs 
at  their  places  of  resort.  One  group — consisting  of  the  Consuls  of 
Russia,  France,  and  England — was  to  go  to  Nevesigne,  while  the 
other  group — consisting  of  the  Consuls  of  Germany,  Austria-Hun- 
gary, and  Italy — should  go  to  Trebigne,  the  Turkish  agent  attach- 
ing himself  to  either  group  as  circumstances  should  demand.  Sev- 
eral conferences  were  held  without  result.  The  insurgents  insisted 
upon  a  suspension  of  hostilities,  arid  refused  to  take  part  in  any  con- 
ference in  which  a  representative  of  Turkey  participated.  At  the 
end  of  September  the  Consuls  returned  to  Mostar,  where  they  were 
instructed  to  remain  and  await  the  development  of  events.  Server 
Pasha  was  instructed  by  the  Porte  to  receive  courteously  all  the 
communications  which  they  might  make  to  him,  but  to  enter  into 
no  engagements  which  might  commit  his  Government.  Through 
September  and  the  succeeding  months  of  the  fall,  till  the  closing 
in  of  the  winter,  the  insurgents  harassed  the  Turkish  troops  con- 
tinually, attacking  them  at  difficult  points  along  the  paths  of  the 
mountains  and  forests,  surprising  their  convoys  and  capturing  or 
destroying  their  provisions  and  animals.  A  brilliant  surprise  in- 
flicted upon  the  Turks  by  Peko  and  Liubibratish  with  two  thousand 
insurgents  at  Prapatnitza  in  the  latter  part  of  September  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  considerable  addition  to  the  strength  of  the  insurrection 
from  Bosnia. 

Another  event  of  a  different  character  added  to  its  force.  The 
Turks  had  promised  immunity  to  those  who  had  participated  in  the 
insurrection  who  should  return  to  their  homes.  A  number  of 
refugees,  relying  upon  the  assurances  thus  given,  returned  early  in 
October  from  Dalmatia  and  Montenegro  to  Papovopolie,  where  they 
were  arrested  as  rebels  and  executed. 

On  the  1st  of  October  the  Turks  had  in  the  insurrectionary  dis- 
tricts and  on  the  borders  of  Servia  nearly  100,000  men,  of  whom 
16,000  regular  troops  were  in  Herzegovina,  while  the  insurrection- 
ary forces  numbered  not  more  than  between  10,000  and  14,000  men. 


INSURRECTION  OF  1875,  AND   WARS  OF  1876.  iji 

Nevertheless,  the  movements  of  the  insurgents  were  nearly  always 
successful.  The  country  was  a  difficult  one  and  strange  to  the 
Turks,  while  the  Herzegovinians  were  familiar  with  its  ways  and 
managed  their  movements  with  skill. 

On  the  llth  of  October  Shevket  Pasha  marched  from  Trebigne 
with  a  brigade  of  Turks  against  the  insurrectionist  position  on  the 
Zubtchi.  He  met  a  force  of  2,000  insurgents  near  Grab  on  the  13th, 
defeated  them  and  occupied  their  position,  but  was  not  able  to  pur- 
sue them,  and  returned  to  Trebigne.  At  the  close  of  October, 
Peko  Paulovitch  and  Sotchitza  with  5,000  men  held  the  road  be- 
tween Goranitchka  and  Piva,  while  3,000  insurgents  at  the  Duga 
Pass  controlled  the  communications  of  the  fort  at  Nicsic.  Rauf 
Pasha,  who  had  been  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  troops  in 
Herzegovina,  dispatched  Shevket  Pasha  with  about  5,000  men  to 
the  relief  of  Goranitchka.  This  expedition  was  repulsed  in  the 
engagements  of  the  10th  and  llth  of  November,  and  Rauf  Pasha 
w  nt  in  person  to  the  relief  of  the  fortress.  He  surprised  the  in- 
surgents at  the  cloister  of  Piva,  and  accomplished  his  purpose.  The 
relief  of  Nicsic  next  engaged  attention.  It  was  effected  at  the  cost 
of  hard  fighting  by  a  combined  operation,  in  which  Rauf  Pasha 
marched  up  through  the  south  end  of  the  Duga  Pass  while  Selim 
Pasha  pressed  down  from  the  north  end.  "Winter  set  in  about  the 
middle  of  December,  and  all  important  military  movements  were 
suspended. 

Political  discussions  in  Servia  centered  around  the  questions  which 
grew  out  of  the  relations  of  the  country  to  Turkey.  The  party  of 
Young  Servia  kept  up  a  constant  agitation  for  the  union  of  the 
Serbs  and  their  kindred  stems  for  war  against  Turkey,  and  the 
erection  of  a  great  Servian  Kingdom,  and  was  very  strong,  both  in 
the  Skupstchina  and  among  the  people.  Prince  Milan  recognized 
the  weakness  of  his  country  as  compared  with  a  great  power  like 
Turkey,  and  believed  that  the  policy  advised  by  the  Young  Servians 
would  be  disastrous  and  destructive  of  the  best  interests  of  the 
State,  if  not  of  its  existence.  He  therefore  favored  a  policy  of 
peace.  His  career  was  made  very  uncomfortable  by  the  hostility 
to  his  views  of  the  agitators  for  war  among  the  people,  in  the 
Skupstchina,  and  even  in  his  cabinet,  and.  was  troubled  by  move- 
ments to  displace  him  and  set  up  another  prince,  supposed  to  be 
more  ready  to  yield  to  the  views  of  the  war  party.  At  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Herzegovinian  insurrection  in  July,  1875,  the  conservative 


1 72  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

ministry  of  Stephanovitch  was  in  power,  but  could  not  command  a 
majority  in  the  Skupstcbina.  The  prince  dissolved  the  Assembly. 
The  new  elections  resulted  adversely  to  the  ministry,  and  they 
offered  their  resignations  on  the  16th  of  August.  Prince  Milan 
requested  them  to  remain  in  office  until  the  Assembly  should  meet. 
The  Skupstchina  was  opened  at  Kraguyevatz  on  the  28th  of 
August,  with  a  majority  decidedly  hostile  to  the  ministry.  A  new 
ministry  was  appointed  from  the  national  party,  with  Ristitch  at 
its  head.  Prince  Milan  delivered  an  address  to  the  Assembly  on  the 
10th  of  September,  in  which  he  described  the  situation  of  Servia  in 
the  existing  trouble  as  a  hard  one,  and  complained  of  the  moving 
of  Turkish  troops  on  the  frontiers,  but  expressed  the  hope  that  good 
results  would  follow  the  conferences  of  the  Porte  with  the  Western 
Powers.  A  circular,  issued  by  the  ministry  to  the  provincial 
officers,  ordered  them  to  prevent  all  acts  which  might  disturb  the 
friendly  relations  of  Servia  with  the  Porte.  The  Skupstchina  voted 
a  reply  to  the  address  of  the  Prince,  promising  him  all  the  means 
necessary  to  protect  the  liberties  of  the  people  and  the  security  of 
the  country,  and  speaking  of  the  possibility  of  war  as  something  to 
be  contemplated  only  in  case  it  should  be  necessary  for  the  national 
defense.  On  the  28th  of  September,  the  Skupstchina,  in  secret 
session,  granted  the  ministry  a  credit  for  making  precautionary 
military  preparations.  The  next  day  the  Skupstchina  was  ad- 
journed by  the  Prince  to  Belgrade.  The  ministry  were  very  ab- 
ruptly dismissed  a  few  days  afterward.  Prince  Milan,  meeting 
the  members  of  his  cabinet  in  the  ministerial  chamber,  complained 
that  they  were  inciting  the  country  to  war,  and  desired  that  they 
should  be  more  prudent.  Minister  Ristitch  replied,  that  if  the 
policy  of  the  cabinet  was  not  satisfactory  to  the  Prince,  the  members 
would  be  obliged  to  tender  their  resignations.  On  the  next  day, 
October  4th,  the  Prince  came  into  the  palace  of  the  Skupstchina, 
accompanied  only  by  an  adjutant.  After  exchanging  a  few  words 
with  the  ministers,  he  went  alone  into  the  hall  of  the  Skupstchina. 
The  ministers  followed  him.  Milan  was  received  by  the  chamber 
with  a  deep  silence,  in  the  midst  of  wrhich  he  arose  and  announced 
that  his  ministers  had  given  him  their  resignations,  and  he  had 
accepted  them.  Upon  this  announcement,  the  ministers  retired 
from  the  hall.  Milan  continued,  that  having  no  ministers  through 
whom  to  communicate  with  the  Skupstchina,  he  was  obliged  to 
address  it  in  person.  He  then  asked  the  deputies,  "  Have  you  con- 


ADVANCE    SENTINELS. 


INSURRECTION  OF  1875,  AND   WARS  OF  1876.  173 

fidence  in  me  ? "  The  astonished  members  of  the  Assembly,  after 
some  hesitation,  replied,  "Yes."  The  Prince  then  asked,  "  Are  you 
for  war  ? "  The  deputies  responded  at  once,  with  enthusiasm,  "  Yes, 
yes ! "  The  Prince  replied  that  he  did  not  desire  war,  and  declared 
that  in  view  of  the  situation  of  the  country  and  the  respect  due  to 
the  views  of  the  great  powers,  he  could  not  wish  for  it.  His  re- 
marks were  received  coldly,  and  the  session  of  the  chamber  was 
adjourned.  Three  days  afterward,  Prince  Milan  invited  all  the 
deputies  to  his  palace,  and  calling  their  names  from  the  list  of 
members  of  the  Skupstchina,  put  to  each  singly  the  question, 
"Who  is  for  war,  who  not?"  The  members,  thus  appealed  to 
on  their  individual  responsibility,  were  not  as  ready  for  war  as  they 
had  been  in  the  chamber,  and  only  twelve  of  them  answered  in  the 
affirmative,  while  the  rest  expressed  themselves  as  opposed  to  war. 
The  Prince  then  asked,  in  the  same  manner,  "  "Who  is  in  favor  of 
our  giving  support  to  the  insurrectionists  ? "  and  the  majority  like- 
wise voted  against  this  line  of  action.  A  new  ministry  was  ap- 
pointed on  the  9th  of  October,  under  the  direction  of  Kalievitch, 
former  President  of  the  Skupstchina.  It  represented  the  same 
political  views  as  the  former  Ristitch  ministry,  but  its  members 
were  personally  more  agreeable  to  the  Prince.  Kalievitch  intro- 
duced his  cabinet  to  the  Skupstchina  on  the  10th,  with  an  address, 
which  embodied  a  warning  against  indulging  a  self-confidence, 
which  the  difficulties  of  the  situation  and  the  slender  resources  of 
Servia  would  not  justify,  but  admitted  the  duty  of  guarding  the 
honor  and  interests  of  the  country  and  preparing  for  the  future ;  and 
uttered  the  hope  that  the  ministry,  supported  by  the  Skuptschina, 
would  be  able  to  say  to  the  Prince :  "  You  have  trusted  us,  and  we 
have  not  deceived  you.  Servia  and  the  Servian  cause  have  received 
from  us  all  that  in  these  times  we  have  been  able  to  give  them." 
This  address,  and  the  measures  of  reform  which  the  minister  out- 
lined, particularly  those  looking  to  the  improvement  of  the  de- 
fenses of  the  country,  were  received  with  acclamations.  The 
Skupstchina  adjourned  on  the  30th  of  October. 

The  Turkish  Government  adopted  energetic  military  measures  to 
prevent  the  further  spread  of  the  Herzegovinian  insurrection.  Be- 
sides the  forces  which  were  kept  in  constant  activity  in  Herzegovina, 
and  added  to  as  often  as  was  necessary,  it  stationed  large  detach- 
ments throughout  Bosnia,  and  put  a  formidable  corps  of  observation 
along  the  Servian  frontier.  The  presence  of  this  latter  body  added 


174  THE  IV AR  IN  THE  EAST. 

to  the  warlike  excitement  in  Servia,  helped  to  protract  it,  in- 
creased the  difficulties  which  Prince  Milan  had  to  encounter  in  pre- 
serving his  policy  of  peace,  and  called  for  the  presence  of  bodies  of 
Servian  troops  on  the  other  side  of  the  line.  These  troops  on  both 
sides  were  withdrawn  in  November. 

The  Porte  tried  also  to  satisfy  the  insurrectionists  by  measures  of 
conciliation.  It  made  many  pleasant  promises  and  offered  several 
fair-seeming  schemes  of  reform,  but  these  offerings  failed  to  pro- 
duce any  perceptible  effect ;  they  rather  received  the  contempt  of 
the  insurgents,  because  they  had  become  habituated  to  regard  it  as 
an  established  custom  with  the  Porte  to  make  promises  which  it 
would  fail  to  see  executed. 

On  the  first  of  September  the  Sultan  issued  a  firman  to  the  Gov- 
ernors-General of  the  provinces,  admonishing  them  to  see  that  the 
laws  were  fully  and  promptly  executed,  and  ordering  the  impartial 
trial  of  all  offenders,  so  that  all  the  subjects  of  the  Porte  without 
distinction  might  enjoy  the  greatest  security  and  justice.  On  the 
second  of  October  an  Trade"  was  issued  providing  for  the  relief  of 
the  poorer  farmers  from  one-fourth  of  the  tithes  which  had  been 
recently  imposed,  and  from  the  arrears  of  taxes  up  to  the  financial 
year  1873-'74:.  It  also  projected  a  scheme  for  the  representation 
of  the  people  in  the  government  of  the  vilayets  by  a  General  As- 
sembly of  deputies  from  every  district,  which  should  meet  once  a 
year  to  discuss  concerns  of  public  interest,  and  should  have  consider- 
ation of  matters  relating  to  the  imposition  of  taxes  and  the  appro- 
priation of  the  revenues.  Deputations  from  these  annual  assemblies, 
consisting  of  persons  selected  by  the  Sultan  for  that  purpose,  should 
go  from  time  to  time  to  Constantinople  to  present  directly  to  the 
Porte  the  wishes  of  the  people. 

On  the  fourteenth  of  December  the  Sultan  issued  an  Irade  insti- 
tuting reforms  not  only  for  Herzegovina  and  Bosnia,  but  for  the 
whole  Empire.  It  contained  provisions  relating  to  the  election  of 
judges  and  administrative  officers  by  all  subjects  of  the  Porte  with- 
out distinction ;  for  the  transfer  of  lawsuits  to  the  civil  courts,  and 
measures  to  prevent  arbitrary  collection  of  taxes ;  to  reform  the  titles 
to  real  estate,  and  restrict  the  exaction  of  services  for  public  works ; 
it  assured  to  the  people  of  all  religions,  and  the  heads  of  all  relig- 
ious organizations,  the  right  to  the  free  exercise  of  their  respective 
religions  and  ecclesiastical  functions ;  guaranteed  privileges  for 
the  foundation  of  schools,  and  declared  all  public  offices  open  to 


INSURRECTION  OF  1875,  AND   WARS  OF  1876.  175 

non-Mohammedan  subjects ;  graduated  the  amount  of  the  fee  for 
exemption  from  military  duty,  and  secured  the  right  of  holding 
real  estate  to  all  non-Mohammedan  subjects,  together  with  respect 
for  testamentary  provisions. 

The  three  Imperial  powers — Russia,  Austria,  and  Germany,  who 
had  long  since  formed  a  convention  and  agreed  to  act  in  concert  in 
affairs  relating  to  Turkey — had  become  very  anxious  to  prevent 
a  reopening  of  the  Eastern  Question,  which  was  now  threatened 
by  the  progress  of  the  Herzegovinian  insurrection  and  the  grow- 
ing excitement  in  the  tributary  States.  They  agreed,  there- 
fore, that  a  note,  formally  expressing  their  views  as  to  what  meas- 
ures were  necessary  for  the  pacification  of  the  Turkish  Empire,  and 
for  the  security  of  civilization,  should  be  formally  drawn  up  in  their 
name  and  presented  to  the  Porte.  The  framing  of  this  note  was 
entrusted  to  the  Austrian  Prime  Minister,  Count  Andrassy.  Hence 
it  is  commonly  known  as  the  Andrassy  note. 

The  Andrassy  note,  which  is  a  very  long  and  elaborate  document, 
began  by  relating  the  efforts  which  the  European  Governments  had 
made  for  the  restoration  of  peace  in  the  disaffected  districts,  and  the 
pains  which  they  had  taken  at  the  same  time  to  avoid  the  appear- 
ance of  an  interference  in  Turkish  affairs.  It  referred  to  the  re- 
forms promised  in  the  Irades  of  the  2d  of  October  and  the  14th  of 
December,  as  embodying  good  principles,  but  as  requiring  effective 
administration  to  render  them  of  practical  value,  and  declared  that 
they  would  be  useless  until  the  country  should  have  been  first  paci- 
fied. It  then  detailed  the  complaints  of  the  Christian  inhabitants 
of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  and  named  the  measures  which  it  was 
necessary  to  make  of  effect  in  those  provinces  before  the  hope  of  a 
valid  peace  could  be  realized,  viz :  (1).  Complete  freedom  of  relig- 
ion ;  (2).  Abolition  of  the  farming  of  the  taxes  ;  (3).  A  law  guaran- 
teeing that  the  revenue  from  the  direct  taxes  of  Bosnia  and  Herze- 
govina should  be  applied  for  the  good  of  the  provinces  under  the 
control  of  boards  constituted  in  the  sense  of  the  firman  of  Decem- 
ber 14th ;  (4).  The  creation  of  a  special  commission,  composed  in 
equal  numbers  of  Christians  and  Mohammedans,  to  superintend  the 
execution  of  the  reforms  proposed  by  the  powers  as  well  as  those 
which  had  been  promised  by  the  Porte ;  (5).  The  improvement  of 
the  agrarial  condition  of  the  rural  population.  The  note  reminded 
the  Turkish  Government  that  it  had  not  succeeded  in  putting  down 
the  insurrection  by  arms,  and  expressed  the  general  conviction  en- 


176  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

tertained  by  Christians  that  the  coming  spring  would  reinforce  it ; 
that  Bulgaria  and  Crete  would  increase  the  movement,  and  Servia 
and  Montenegro  would  be  drawn  into  it.  The  task  of  the  powers 
who  wished  to  preserve  the  general  peace  had  become  difficult  under 
these  complications.  They  could  not  secure  peace  by  enjoining  the 
governments  of  the  principalities,  or  by  pointing  to  the  promises  of 
the  Porte,  for  these  promises  had  been  broken  so  often  that  nobody 
would  longer  regard  them  ;  but  if  they  could  point  to  indisputable, 
practical  reforms,  in  actual  operation,  their  task  would  be  greatly 
simplified. 

The  Andrassy  note  was  completed  early  in  November,  1875, 
was  communicated  to  all  of  the  great  Western  Powers,  and  received 
their  approval.  It  was  not,  however,  formally  delivered  to  the  Turk- 
ish Government  for  several  weeks,  Reshid  Pasha,  the  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  asking  indulgence  under  various  pretexts.  The 
threatening  attitude  of  Servia  and  Montenegro  was  pleaded  as  offer- 
ing an  impediment  to  the  action  demanded  in  the  note  ;  this  was  re- 
moved by  the  withdrawal  of  the  forces  of  both  sides,  from  the  Ser- 
vian frontiers.  Then  the  Irade  of  the  14th  of  December  provided 
for  the  introduction  of  some  of  the  reforms  indicated,  and  the  note 
had  to  be  revised  and  changed  to  meet  the  new  situation  thus  created, 
and  again  approved  by  all  the  powers ;  so  that  it  was  not  till  the 
31st  of  January,  1876,  that  Count  Zichy,  the  Austrian  Ambassador 
at  Constantinople,  was  able  finally  to  place  it  in  the  hands  of  Reshid 
Pasha.  The  Ambassadors  of  England,  Germany,  France,  Italy,  and 
Russia  informed  the  Turkish  Minister  that  their  Governments  sup- 
ported the  Austrian  propositions  in  all  of  their  points.  A  few  days 
afterward  the  Ambassadors  were  informed  that  a  new  firman  insti- 
tuting reforms,  was  in  preparation  for  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina. 
This  document  appeared  on  the  llth,  and  ordered  the  immediate  in- 
stitution in  the  insurgent  districts  of  complete  liberty  of  worship ; 
reform  in  the  system  of  taxation ;  the  sale  of  waste  lands  to  needy 
inhabitants  on  easy  terms  of  payment;  the  institution  of  mixed 
commissions  in  the  capitals  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  to  insure  the 
prompt  execution  of  reforms ;  and  an  increase  in  the  sums  applied 
to  works  of  public  utility  in  proportions  to  be  fixed  by  the  mixed 
commissions.  It  also  offered  a  general  amnesty  to  all  disaffected  in- 
habitants who  would  return  within  four  weeks  to  their  obedience. 
The  Government  further  promised  to  have  the  houses  and  churches 
of  the  returning  refugees,  which  had  been  destroyed,  rebuilt,  and  to 


INSURRECTION  OF  1875,  AND   WARS  OF  1876.  177 

help  those  who  should  return  to  a  new  start  in  business.  The  answer 
of  the  Porte  to  the  Andrassy  note  was  delivered  to  Count  Zichy  on 
the  20th  of  February.  It  promised  to  give  immediate  attention  to 
the  introduction  of  the  measures  suggested  by  the  powers  as  to  four 
of  the  points,  and  as  soon  as  possible  as  to  the  other.  The  position 
of  the  Turkish  Government  on  this  subject  was  also  fully  explained 
in  a  circular  note  which  it  addressed  to  its  Ambassadors  at  the  Euro- 
pean Courts,  calling  their  attention  to  the  provisions  of  the  Trade  of 
the  llth,  as  embodying  most  of  the  principles  declared  in  the  An- 
drassy  note.  The  application  of  the  direct  taxes  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  the  provinces,  demanded  by  the  powers,  was  mentioned  as 
involving  the  difficulty  that  it  could  not  be  brought  into  harmony  with 
the  general  system  of  administering  the  Turkish  finances,  but  the 
Government  would  endeavor  to  make  a  satisfactory  adjustment  of 
that  point  also. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1876,  Mukhtar  Pasha  succeeded  Raiif 
Pasha,  as  commander  of  the  Turkish  forces  in  Herzegovina,  and, 
established  his  headquarters  at  Trebigne.  The  winter's  rest  was  dis- 
turbed only  by  a  few  unimportant  engagements,  when  the  insurgents 
attacked  the  provision-trains  of  the  Turks,  or  surprised  their  detach- 
ments as  they  struggled  along  the  rough  bridle-paths  which  serve  as 
substitutes  for  roads  in  that  poorly  improved  region.  Some  acces- 
sions of  Montenegrins  came  to  the  insurgents  at  Zubtchi  and  Ban- 
yani,  about  the  middle  of  January.  Liubibratish  was  displaced  from 
the  leadership  of  the  insurrection,  and  the  position  was  formally 
assumed  by  Peko  Paulovitch.  This  officer  undertook  to  give  a  mili- 
tary organization  to  the  insurgent  forces.  He  arranged  his  force 
into  detachments,  over  each  of  which  he  placed  a  chief,  who  should 
be  responsible  for  the  strict  execution  of  his  orders.  Attached  to 
his  personal  staff  were  the  Archimandite  Melentitch  Perovitch  and 
the  Catholic  Cure  Don  Juan  Musich.  His  subaltern  commanders 
were  Milcevitch,  Tripko  Kikatovitch,  Sava  Angelijtch,  Stolan  Babitch, 
Luka  Petkovitch,  and  Maksim  Bacevitch.  The  band  of  Lazar  So- 
tchitza  continued  independent. 

The  most  noteworthy  of  the  engagements  during  the  winter  was  a 
sharp  action  which  took  place  at  Muratovizza  on  the  16th  of  March, 
when  five  battalions  of  Turks,  going  to  provision  the  fortress  of 
Goransko,  were  attacked  by  1,150  insurgents  under  Peko  Paulovitch, 
defeated,  and  pursued  with  considerable  loss. 

During  the  winter  another  attempt  was  made  by  the  European 


178  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Consuls,  who  had  remained  at  Mostar  ever  since  the  failure  of  their 
summer  conferences,  to  negotiate  with  the  insurgents  for  a  suspen- 
sion of  hostilities.  By  advice  of  their  Governments,  they  invited  the 
Herzegovinian  leaders,  February  9th,  to  confer  for  a  restoration  of 
peace  on  the  basis  of  the  propositions  of  the  Andrassy  note.  But  the 
insurgents  had  lost  all  faith  in  diplomatic  negotiations  as  well  as  in 
Turkish  promises  of  reforms,  as  means  of  bettering  the  condition  of 
their  country,  and  refused  to  consider  these  terms.  The  leaders  met 
at  the  Suttorina,  February  26th,  and  issued  a  manifesto  declaring 
their  views  on  the  subject.  No  reforms,  they  said,  would  be  of  any 
effect,  for  the  Mohammedans  would  baffle  every  attempt  that  could 
be  made  in  that  direction,  and  would  revolt  if  an  effective  effort  were 
made ;  they  sought  freedom  and  independence ;  for  these  they  would 
fight,  not  negotiate,  and  would  not  lay  down  their  arms  till  they  were 
gained,  and  Herzegovina  was  granted  independence. 

Baron  Kodich,  Governor  of  Dalmatia,  on  behalf  of  the  Austrian 
Government,  visited  both  the  Turks  and  the  insurgents  in  the  inter- 
ests of  peace.  The  Turks  were  ready  to  consider  the  subject  of  a  sus- 
pension of  hostilities,  if  the  provisioning  of  the  garrison  at  Nicsic 
was  secured.  The  insurgents  firmly  maintained  the  position  they 
had  assumed.  Deputations  of  refugees  declared  that  they  would  re- 
sist to  the  last,  and  that  their  families  should  starve  in  other  coun- 
tries rather  than  be  again  subjected  to  abuse  at  home  ;  and  the  chiefs 
themselves  communicated  their  ultimatum  in  the  beginning  of  April. 
They  demanded  that  all  the  Turkish  troops  in  Herzegovina  should 
be  concentrated  at  six  specified  posts ;  that  the  Christians  and  insur- 
gents should  be  allowed  to  keep  their  arms  till  the  Mohammedans 
were  disarmed ;  that  provisions  should  be  furnished  the  people  to 
last  them  till  the  next  harvest ;  that  the  collection  of  the  taxes  should 
be  suspended  for  three  years  ;  that  the  Christians  should  have  one- 
third  of  the  lands  held  by  the  rayahs  on  lease,  awarded  to  them  ;  mat 
the  reforms  proposed  in  the  Andrassy  note  should  be  immediately  and 
fully  carried  out  in  the  peaceful  parts  of  the  country,  so  that  it  could 
be  seen  how  the  Mohammedans  would  act  with  reference  to  them  ; 
and  that  a  commission  of  the  European  powers  should  be  established 
to  watch  the  introduction  of  the  reforms.  An  informal  suspension 
of  hostilities  ensued  from  the  28th  of  March  to  the  10th  of  April. 

At  the  opening  of  the  campaign  in  the  spring  of  1876,  the  in- 
surgents were  able  to  enter  the  field  with  a  force  recruited  from  the 
Slavic  peoples  abroad,  improved  in  organization,  and  well  armed. 


MR.    EUGENE    SCHUYLER. 


MR.    WALTER    BARING. 


INSURRECTION  OF  1875,  AND   WARS  OF  1876.  jgi 

The  Turks  had,  including  the  garrisons  of  the  forts,  about  22,000 
men  fit  for  action.  The  insurgents  had  cut  off  the  communication 
of  ISTicsic  with  Montenegro  whence  it  had  heen  provisioned  during 
the  winter,  and  the  supplies  of  its  garrison  had  run  out.  Mukhtar 
Pasha  tried  twice  to  relieve  it,  and  succeeded  on  the  second  attempt, 
only  after  four  days  of  hard  fighting  and  with  heavy  losses.  The 
other  garrisons  were  supplied  with  less  trouble,  for  the  insurgents 
had  given  all  their  attention  to  Nicsic,  and  that  port  was  provisioned 
again  in  June  without  resistance. 

The  Servian  Government  during  the  earlier  months  of  1876 
maintained  an  attitude  of  quiet  observation,  in  the  midst  of  popular 
agitations  in  favor  of  war.  The  ministry  favored  a  peaceful  policy ; 
the  Skupstchina  was  inclined  toward  war.  As  measures  of  pre- 
caution, a  sum  was  voted  for  the  equipment  of  the  army,  and 
a  levy  of  men  fit  for  service  was  ordered.  The  expressions  of 
Prince  Milan  to  the  Austrian  representative  at  Belgrade,  were,  how- 
ever, of  a  peaceful  term.  The  public  excitement  continued  to 
grow.  The  capital  was  illuminated  on  the  14th  of  March  in  honor 
of  the  Herzegovinian  victory  at  Muratovizza.  Liubibratish,  the 
former  leader  of  the  insurgents,  had  organized  a  force  of  various 
nationalities  in  aid  of  the  insurrection,  which  was  captured  in 
March  by  Austrian  oificers  on  the  territory  of  Dalmatia.  With  it 
was  captured  the  Fraulein  Ma'rkus,  a  Dutch  lady,  who,  inspired  with 
enthusiasm  for  the  Slavic  cause,  had  given  it  money  and  was  now 
giving  it  her  personal  assistance.  On  her  release  she  went  to 
Belgrade  and  was  received  there  with  an  ovation.  A  few  days 
afterward  (April  9th)  a  warlike  demonstration  was  given  by  the 
Omladina  in  the  shape  of  a  charivari  to  the  Austrian  representative 
at  Belgrade,  for  which  the  Austrian  Government  demanded  and 
received  an  apology.  Finally,  the  Prince  was  forced,  in  May,  to 
appoint  a  new  ministry  more  in  sympathy  with  the  public  feeling. 
This  ministry  was  called  after  two  of  its  most  prominent  members, 
the  Ristitch-Gruiteh  Ministry. 

The  massacre  of  the  French  and  German  Consuls  by  a  Moham- 
medan mob  at  Salonica  on  the  7th  of  May  greatly  increased  the 
excitement  among  the  Christian  population  of  Turkey,  and  led  ta 
renewed  protests  by  the  Great  Powers.  The  riot  at  Salonica  was 
occasioned  by  the  appearance  at  the  railway  station  of  a  young 
Bulgarian  girl  whom  Emin  Effendi,  a  prominent  Turk  of  the  town> 
had  procured  for  his  harem.  The  mother  of  the  girl  had  followed 


1 82  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST.  ' 

her  on  the  same  train  without  either  knowing  that  they  were  so 
near.  Their  surprise  and  demonstrations  on  meeting  each  other 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  crowd,  which  was  mostly  composed 
of  Christians,  and  the  cry  was  raised  that  the  girl  had  been  forced 
to  become  a  Mohammedan  and  enter  Emiri  Effendi's  harem.  In  the 
tumult  which  ensued,  an  empty  carnage  belonging  to  the  American 
Consul,  which  was  standing  by  the  station,  was  seized  by  the  Chris- 
tians, and  the  girl  was  put  into  it  and  carried  off  to  a  place  of  safety. 
The  Mohammedans  were  indignant,  and  the  streets  were  filled  all 
the  afternoon  and  the  next  morning  with  crowds  calling  for  ven- 
geance for  the  insult  that  had  been  offered  to  Islam.  The  French 
Consul,  apprehending  riot,  went,  accompanied  by  the  German  Con- 
sul, who  was  his  brother-in-law,  to  call  upon  Emin  Effendi  to  induce 
him  to  use  his  influence  to  restore  order.  The  Effendi  was  at  the 
Mosque,  and  the  Consuls  sought  him  there.  Their  appearance  in 
the  sacred  place  excited  the  mob  to  ferocity.  The  higher  Turks 
tried  to  protect  them  without  avail.  They  were  fallen  upon  and 
savagely  murdered.  The  Western  Governments  took  the  matter 
up  immediately  and  demanded  satisfaction  for  the  outrage,  and  sup- 
ported their  demand  by  the  dispatch  of  war  vessels  to  the  spot. 
The  most  prominent  participants  in  the  murders  were  punished, 
and  an  indemnify  was  paid  to  the  families  of  the  murdered  Consuls. 

Attention  had  by  this  time  become  painfully  directed  to  the  un- 
happy situation  of  the  Bulgarian  people.  Manifestations  of  their 
discontent  appeared  in  February,  in  the  shape  of  demands  for  relief 
from  the  burdens  imposed  upon  landholders,  supported  in  a  few 
places  by  the  organization  of  bands  of  insurgents.  Military  forces, 
composed  partly  of  regular  troops,  but  mostly  of  Circassians  and 
Bashi-Bazouks,  were  dispatched  to  the  province  to  repress  these 
manifestations.  The  irresponsible  irregular  soldiery,  who  are  sub- 
ject to  only  the  loosest  discipline,  began  a  career  of  plunder,  out- 
rage, and  destruction,  which  has  few,  if  any,  parallels  in  the  annals 
of  civilized  warfare.  They  made  no  distinction  between  orderly 
and  disorderly  inhabitants,  spared  no  age  nor  either  sex,  but  exer- 
cised violence  upon  all  according  to  their  caprice.  The  stories  that 
were  told  of  the  rapine,  murders,  burning  of  houses  and  villages, 
outrages  upon  women,  and  abductions  of  girls,  were  almost  incredi- 
ble, and  were  so  considered  and  not  believed  at  first,  but  they  have 
been  confirmed  in  their  worst  details  by  unimpeachable  testimony. 

These  atrocities  excited  universal  astonishment  and  horror  when 


INSURRECTION  OF  1875,  AND   WARS  OF  1876.  183 

their  full  extent  and  nature  had  been  made  known.  Mr.  W.  E. 
Gladstone,  late  Premier  of  the  British  Cabinet,  was  prompted  by 
them  to  write  a  pamphlet  full  of  burning  denunciation  of  the  ad- 
ministration in  power  in  Great  Britain,  for  its  attempt  to  palliate 
the  enormity  of  the  offenses  and  its  toleration  of  the  Turkish  Gov- 
ernment, which,  knowing  that  they  had  been  committed,  had  not 
taken  efficient  measures  to  bring  the  perpetrators  of  them  to  justice. 
In  this  pamphlet,  he  pronounced  them  "the  basest  and  blackest 
outrages  upon  record  within  the  present  century,  if  not  within  the 
memory  of  man,"  and  characterized  them  as  "  crimes  and  outrages 
so  vast  in  scale  as  to  exceed  all  modern  example,  and  so  unutterably 
vile  as  well  as  fierce  in  character,  that  it  pains  the  power  of  heart  to 
conceive,  and  of  tongue  and  pen  adequately  to  describe  them." 

Mr.  Gladstone's  denunciations  are  justified  by  the  testimony  of 
responsible  persons  who  visited  the  scenes  of  the  outrages,  ques- 
tioned the  friends  of  the  victims,  and  looked  upon  the  wasted 
villages.  Among  these  persons  were  missionaries  of  the  American 
Board,  the  correspondent  of  the  London  Daily  JVews,  and  Mr. 
Eugene  Schuyler,  United  States  Secretary  of  Legation  at  Constan- 
tinople. A  strip  of  country  south  of  the  Balkan  Mountains,  about 
thirty  miles  wide  and  one  hundred  miles  long,  was  wholly  or  par- 
tially desolated,  and  in  this  district  seventy  towns  were  given  up 
to  massacre,  plunder,  and  fire.  The  number  of  persons  who  were 
murdered,  in  most  cases  with  fiendish  brutality,  was  estimated  by 
Mr.  Baring,  an  agent  sent  by  the  British  Minister  at  Constantinople, 
to  make  inquiry  on  the  subject,  at  twelve  thousand,  and  by  Mr. 
Eugene  Schuyler  at  fifteen  thousand  at  "  the  lowest." 

Four  days  were  spent  in  ravaging  Panijurishta,  or  Otliikloi, 
which  was  regarded  as  the  focus  of  the  insurrection.  The  town  was 
filled  with  inhabitants  of  the  neighboring  towns,  whose  houses  had 
been  already  destroyed,  and  who  had  taken  refuge  here.  Twenty- 
nine  hundred  people  were  slain,  of  whom  two  thousand  were 
refugees  from  the  other  towns,  and  nine  hundred  were  inhabitants 
of  Panijurishta.  About  one-third  of  the  place  was  destroyed.  The 
churches  were  desecrated  in  every  manner  that  sacrilegious  in- 
genuity could  suggest.  An  old  blind  man,  who  had  earned  the 
good-will  of  the  whole  town,  was  shut  up  in  his  house  and  burned ; 
another  man  was  deprived  of  his  eyes ;  and  a  third  was  first  mu- 
tilated upon  the  altar,  then  covered  with  petroleum,  and  burned. 
"  The  sinners,"  says  a  correspondent  of  the  Cologne  Gazette,  relating 


1 84  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

the  story  of  the  outrage,  "  whom  Dante  places  in  hell  along  with 
his  old  teacher,  Buenetto  Latini,  were  true  saints,  as  compared  with 
the  Turkish  hordes  of  Panijurishta."  Similar  scenes  were  enacted, 
with  such  differences  in  details  as  might  be  occasioned  by  differences 
in  the  size  and  situation  of  the  towns,  through  the  whole  of  the 
ravaged  district.  The  culminating  outrages  were  committed  at 
Batak,  a  town  of  about  nine  thousand  inhabitants,  situated  in  the 
Rhodope  Mountains,  about  nine  hours'  journey  south  of  Tatar- 
Bazardjik.  It  was  one  of  the  most  prosperous  and  enterprising 
towns  of  the  region,  and  was  engaged  in  extensive  manufacturing 
industries.  The  Bashi-Bazouks  came  to  this  place  on  the  12th  of 
May,  and  spent  five  days  in  their  work  of  devastation.  Mr. 
Djorbajik,  a  chief  officer  of  the  town,  was  impaled  on  a  spit,  and 
roasted  alive ;  women  were  stripped,  deprived  of  their  jewels,  out- 
raged, and  all  were  killed.  Finally  the  town  was  burned  and 
utterly  destroyed,  and  its  inhabitants  given  to  wholesale  massacre, 
which  only  twelve  hundred  succeeded  in  escaping. 

This  place  was  visited  by  the  correspondent  of  the  London  Daily 
News,  with  Mr.  Schuyler,  on  the  18th  of  August,  three  months 
after  the  massacre  took  place.  The  correspondent  describes  the 
scene  as  of  the  most  horrible  character.  Approaching  the  town  the 
party  found  skulls,  of  which  the  writer  of  the  account  counted  one 
hundred  from  the  saddle,  all  of  women  and  children.  "  We  en- 
tered the  town,"  he  continues,  "on  every  side  were  skulls  and 
skeletons  charred  among  the  ruins,  or  lying  entire  where  they  fell 
in  their  clothing.  There  were  skeletons  of  girls  and  women  with 
long  brown  hair  hanging  to  the  skulls.  We  approached  the  church. 
There  these  remains  were  more  frequent,  until  the  ground  was 
literally  covered  with  skeletons,  skulls,  and  putrefying  bodies  in 
clothing.  Between  the  church  and  the  school  there  were  heaps.  .  . 
.  .  The  whole  church-yard,  for  three  feet  deep,  was  festering  with 

dead  bodies  partly  covered I  saw  many  hands,  heads,  and 

feet  of  children  of  three  years  of  age,  and  girls  with  heads  cov- 
ered with  beautiful  hair.  The  church  was  still  new There 

were  three  thousand  bodies  in  the  church-yard  and  church 

In  the  school,  a  fine  building,  two  hundred  women  and  children 
had  been  burned  alive.  All  over  the  town  there  were  the  same 
scenes."  The  skulls  were  all  separated  from  the  bodies,  showing 
that  the  women  and  girls  had  been  beheaded. 

Similar  outrages,  but  less  heinous,  were  committed  north  of  the 


INSURRECTION  OF  1875,  AND   WARS  OF  1876.  185 

Balkans,  near  Timova  and  Gabrova,  where  it  was  estimated  that 
three  thousand  Bulgarians  were  murdered.  An  attempt  was  made 
to  palliate  the  outrages  on  the  ground  that  previous  atrocities  had 
been  committed  by  Bulgarians.  This  is  contradicted  by  Mr.  Schuy- 
ler,  who  says  in  his  report:  "I  have  carefully  investigated  this 
point,  and  arn  unable  to  find  that  the  Bulgarians  committed  any 
atrocities,  or  any  act  which  deserves  that  name.  -I  have  vainly 
tried  to  obtain  from  the  Turkish  officials  a  list  of  such  outrages. 
....  ~No  Turkish  women  or  children  were  killed  in  cold  blood. 
No  Mussulman  women  were  violated.  No  purely  Turkish  village 
was  attacked  or  burned.  No  Mussulman's  home  was  pillaged.  No 
mosque  was  desecrated  or  destroyed." 

Mr.  Walter  Baring  was  sent  to  Adrianople  in  July,  to  investigate 
the  truth  of  the  reports  of  the  insurrection  and  outrages,  and  ascer- 
tain their  exact  extent.  His  report,  which  was  published  on  the 
19th  of  September,  is  doubtless  as  favorable  to  the  Turks  as  adher- 
ence to  the  truth  would  allow  it  to  be,  but  it  in  no  way  mitigates 
the  horror  excited  by  the  accounts  from  which  we  have  just  quoted, 
Mr.  Baring  confirmed  the  assertion  that  a  real  insurrection  had  been 
planned,  and  stated  that  the  schoolmasters,  many  of  whom  had  been 
educated  in  Russia  and  were  Pan-Slavists,  and  the  priests  were  the 
leading  movers  in  it.  A  meeting  of  eighty  agitators  had  been  held 
at  Otlukoi  on  the  31st  of  March,  at  which  the  general  rising  was 
appointed  for  the  13th  of  May.  Their  plan  was  to  destroy  as  much 
of  the  railroad  as  possible ;  burn  Adrianople,  Philippopolis,  Sofia, 
Tatar-Bazardjik,  and  several  other  places,  and  occupy  others  ;  attack 
the  Turkish  and  mixed  villages,  and  kill  all  Mussulmans  who  resisted 
and  take  their  property,  and  to  force  all  the  Bulgarians  into  the  in- 
surrection. None  of  this  was  done,  for  the  movement  was  sup- 
pressed, and  the  massacres  were  perpetrated  before  the  time  ap- 
pointed for  the  plans  to  be  carried  into  effect.  "No  sooner,"  says 
Mr.  Baring,  "  did  the  regular  troops  appear  on  the  scene  than  the 
insurrection  was  at  an  end,  and  much  bloodshed  and  useless  destruc- 
tion of  property  would  have  been  spared  had  they  only  been  des- 
patched somewhat  earlier."  After  describing  the  scene  at  Batak  in 
nearly  the  same  terms  as  were  used  by  the  correspondent  of  the 
London  Daily  News,  Mr.  Baring  expressed  the  belief  that  the 
Turkish  authorities  were  not  aware,  before  he  visited  the  place,  of 
the  horrors  that  had  been  committed  there ;  for  the  town  was  re- 
mote and  difficult  of  access,  and  no  one  had  gone  there  "  who  was 


1 86  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

likely  to  give  the  authorities  a  faithful  account  of  what  he  saw." 
Finally,  in  summing  up  the  evidence,  Mr.  Baring  was  constrained 
to  say  that  "  the  manner  in  which  the  rising  was  suppressed  was  in- 
human in  the  last  degree,  fifty  innocent  persons  suffering  for  every 
guilty  one."  The  total  number  of  Mussulmans  killed  during  the 
whole  disturbance  was  about  163. 

A  commission  was  despatched  by  the  Turkish  Government  to 
visit  the  scene  of  the  outrages  and  investigate  their  character.  It 
succeeded  in  making  an  estimate  of  the  magnitude  of  the  crimes  so 
moderate  as  to  appear  ridiculous  by  the  side  of  the  verified  accounts 
of  the  English  and  American  observers.  Tribunals  were  instituted 
for  the  trial  of  the  Bulgarian  agitators,  numbers  of  whom  were 
executed.  Some  of  the  Bashi-Bazouks  and  others  who  participated 
in  the  outrage  were  executed ;  but  Shevket  Pasha,  who  had  com- 
mand of  the  district,  was  continued  in  high  command  through  the 
whole  of  187T,  and  Achraet  Agha,  who  commanded  the  troops  at 
Batak,  received  the  order  of  the  Medjidie.  With  all  its  efforts  at 
explanation  and  its  pretenses  to  do  justice,  the  Porte  failed  to  re- 
move the  evil  impression  which  the  cruelties  made  upon  the  world, 
and  was  not  able  to  disconnect  itself  fully  from  the  responsibility 
for  them. 

The  situation  in  the  disaffected  provinces  had  grown  no  better, 
but  rather  worse.  The  three  great  powers  who  had  taken  the  lead 
in  action  with  reference  to  Turkish  affairs,  decided  that  a  new  rep- 
resentation should  be  made  to  the  Porte.  The  Prime  Ministers  of 
Russia,  Germany,  and  Austria  met  at  Berlin  on  the  12th  and  13th 
of  May,  and  agreed  upon  the  memorandum  which  is  known  as  the 
Berlin  note.  This  paper  set  forth  that  the  Porte  by  accepting  the 
Andrassy  note  had  pledged  itself  to  Europe  to  carry  out  its  sugges- 
tions, and  that  the  powers  had  a  right  to  demand  the  fulfillment  of 
its  pledge.  The  Sultan  had  done  nothing  in  this  direction,  and  the 
massacre  at  Salonica  was  attributable  to  his  weakness.  An  armistice 
of  two  months  should  at  once  be  concluded  with  the  insurgents,  at 
the  end  of  which,  if  the  object  sought  by  the  powers  were  not 
gained,  it  would  be  necessary  to  consider  what  effective  measures 
should  be  taken  in  the  interests  of  a  general  peace,  and  to  prevent 
the  development  of  further  difficulties.  The  note  was  promptly  ap- 
proved by  France  and  Italy.  Great  Britain  declined  to  give  its 
sanction,  on  account  of  objections  to  the  clause  respecting  "  effective 
measures." 


ABDUL-AZIZ-LATE    SULTAN    OF    TURKEY. 


INSURRECTION  OF  1875,  AND   WARS  OF  1876.  189 

The  massacre  at  Salonica  was  followed  by  a  change  in  the  minis- 
try at  Constantinople.  The  ostensible  head  of  the  new  cabinet  was 
Rushdi  Pasha,  appointed  Grand  Yizier,  but  it  was  largely  under  the 
influence  of  Midhat  Pasha,  one  of  the  most  eminent  and  able  of 
the  Mussulman  statesmen,  who  took  a  place  in  the  council  without  a 
portfolio.  Before  the  end  of  May  the  ministry  co-operating  with 
the  Softas,  or  students  of  Mohammedan  theology,  procured  the  de- 
position of  Sultan  Abdul  Aziz.  Alleging  that  the  faculties  of  the 
Sultan  had  become  disordered,  so  that  he  was  not  only  not  fit  to  en- 
gage in  public  business,  but  that  his  continued  rule  threatened  ruin 
to  the  Empire  and  the  Mussulman  cause,  the  conspirators  obtained 
from  the  Sheik-ul-Islam,  the  supreme  authority  in  Mohammedan 
law,  a  decision  that  it  was  lawful  to  depose  him.  Armed  with  this 
decision,  the  ministers  arrested  the  Sultan,  and  took  him  a  prisoner 
to  the  Palace  of  Top  Kapu,  and  afterward  to  the  Palace  of  Tcher- 
agan.  Murad  Effendi,  the  eldest  son  of  the  late  Sultan  Abdul 
Medjid,  and  nephew  of  the  deposed  Sultan,  the  legal  heir  to  the 
throne,  was  installed  Sultan  under  the  title  of  Murad  Y.,  on  the 
30th  of  May.  On  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  June,  Abdul  Aziz 
was  found  dead  in  his  chamber  in  the  Palace  of  Tcheragan.  A 
council  of  nineteen  physicians  of  different  nationalities  was  called 
to  hold  an  inquest  over  him.  They  decided,  unanimously,  that  he 
had  killed  himself  by  cutting  his  veins  with  a  pair  of  scissors. 

The  probability  of  war  between  Servia  and  Turkey  became  eveiy 
day  more  strong.  The  Ristitch-Gruitch  ministry  were  in  favor  of 
war,  but  they  hesitated  to  take  the  decisive  steps,  because  they  saw 
that  the  country  was  not  sufficiently  prepared  for  it,  and  that  it  lacked 
the  means  of  making  speedy  preparations.  A  decree  for  the  issue  of 
a  loan  of  twelve  million  francs  was  issued  on  the  24th  of  May.  The 
Kussian  General  Tchernayeff  was  appointed  a  general  in  the  Servian 
army,  with  the  understanding  that  he  would  be  the  commander-in- 
chief .  On  the  26th  of  May  an  alliance  was  concluded  with  Montene- 
gro. On  the  9th  of  June  the  Porte  asked  what  these  and  other  war- 
like movements  meant.  The  Servians  replied  that  they  desired  to 
preserve  peace,  and  had  no  design  of  disturbing  the  integrity  of  the 
Porte.  They  agreed  to  send  a  messenger  to  Constantinople  to  con- 
sult with  the  Porte  concerning  the  demands  of  the  situation.  On 
the  29th  of  June,  the  Servian  agent  in  Constantinople  presented  to- 
the  Porte  a  demand  which  Servia  and  Montenegro  had  agreed  to 
make,  that  Turkey  should  entrust  the  pacification  of  Bosnia  and  the 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Herzegovina  to  those  States,  in  consideration  for  which  Servia  should 
receive  Bosnia  and  Montenegro,  and  Herzegovina,  they  agreeing  to 
render  homage  and  pay  tribute  to  the  Porte  for  those  districts,  as 
Servia  already  did  for  her  own  territory.  This  demand  was,  of 
course,  refused.  Prince  Milan  went  to  join  the  army  on  the  29th 
of  June.  He  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  people,  in  which  he  said 
that  he  had  intended  to  send  an  Ambassador  to  Constantinople  to  seek 
.an  understanding  with  the  Porte,  but  that  that  power  had  showed,  in 
every  way,  that  it  did  not  wish  for  an  understanding.  It  had  sent 
troops  upon  troops  to  the  frontier  prepared  to  enter  Servia  at  any 
time.  Servia  must  avert  this  danger,  and  itself  enter  the  insurgent 
provinces  to  restore  peace  and  order.  It  would  respect  the  religion 
and  integrity  of  Turkey.  On  the  2d  of  July  the  country  was  de- 
clared in  a  state  of  siege. 

The  Prince  of  Montenegro  also  raised  the  banner  of  war,  and 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  his  troops  for  an  active  campaign  on 
the  2d  of  July.  Montenegro  had  not  taken  an  open  active  part 
against  Turkey,  during  the  whole  insurrectionary  movement,  until 
the  alliance  with  Servia  was  negotiated  in  May.  The  Herzegovinian 
insurrection  had  excited  a  lively  sympathy  in  Montenegro,  and  the 
Turks  had  accused  that  State  of  giving  it  help  and  encouragement. 
Nevertheless,  the  Turks  relied  upon  the  Montenegrins  to  provision 
their  garrison  at  Nicsic,  during  the  winter  of  1S75-VT6,  and  it  was  pro- 
visioned by  them  from  day  to  day,  until  its  communications  were  cut 
off  by  the  insurgents.  Early  in  1876,  the  Turkish  Yali  of  Herze- 
govina had  made  a  vain  attempt  to  induce  the  Prince  of  Montenegro 
to  take  arms  against  the  insurgents.  The  Montenegrin  declaration 
of  war  was  based  upon  the  allegations  that  the  Turks  had  quite  block- 
aded the  southern  frontier  of  Montenegro,  that  they  had  shown  hos- 
tility to  the  State,  had  interrupted  its  trade,  and  kept  it  continually 
uneasy ;  and  that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  carry  out  the  reforms 
which  they  had  promised  to  introduce  in  Herzegovina. 

When  the  war  was  declared,  the  .Turks  had  available,  for  opera- 
tions against  Servia  and  Montenegro,  a  force  of  about  one  hundred 
thousand  men.  About  twenty  thousand  men  were  in  Herzegovina, 
north  of  Montenegro,  under  Mukhtar  Pasha,  and  between  four  and 
five  thousand  men  were  posted  south  of  Montenegro.  On  the  Dan- 
ube were  about  fifty  thousand  men,  commanded  by  Eyub  Pasha,  and 
including  the  divisions  of  Osman  Pasha  and  Fazyl  Pasha.  Between 
fourteen  and  fifteen  thousand  men  were  in  North-western  and  South- 


INSURRECTION  OF  1875,  AND   WARS  OF  1876.  191 

western  Bosnia.  Besides  all  these  forces,  there  were  about  thirty 
thousand  men  about  Philippopolis,  commanded  by  Abdul  Keriui 
Pasha,  who  had  been  sent  up  against  the  Bulgarian  insurgents. 
Large  additions  were  made  to  these  forces,  for  which  even  the 
remote  Asiatic  corps  were  drawn  upon,  as  soon  as  war  was  de- 
clared 

The  Servian  forces  were  posted  in  four  bodies  :  The  army  of  the 
Drina,  twenty  thousand  men,  under  General  Alimpitch  ;  the  army 
of  the  Ibar,  about  twenty  thousand  men,  under  General  Zach ;  the 
southern  army,  which  was  their  principal  force,  about  forty-five 
thousand  men,  under  General  Tchernayeff;  and  the  army  of  the 
Timok,  twenty  thousand  men,  under  General  Lieshanin. 

The  Servian  divisions  all  moved  immediately  after  war  was  de- 
clared. Gen.  Lieshanin  crossed  the  Timok  with  six  thousand  men 
on  the  2d  of  July,  intending  to  advance  against  Widin.  He  was  re- 
pulsed near  Karaul  with  serious  losses,  and  obliged  to  return.  On 
the  next  day  Osman  Pasha  crossed  into  Servia,  and  forced  the  Servians 
to  abandon  their  fortifications  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Timok,  but 
was  not  able  to  pursue  his  advantage. 

On  the  morning  of  the  3d  of  July,  Gen.  Alimpitch  crossed  the 
Drina  with  fifteen  battalions,  and  marched  with  three  columns  upon 
Bielina.  He  captured  the  fortifications,  but  was  driven  out  of  the 
town  after  having  entered  it,  and  compelled  to  retreat  in  disorder. 
He  returned  to  his  original  position,  strengthened  his  defenses,  and 
pushed  forward  from  day  to  day,  until,  finally,  after  the  evacuation 
of  Little  Zvornick  by  the  Turks,  he  gained  possession  of  both  banks 
of  the  Drina.  Gen.  Zach  crossed  the  frontier  near  Javor,  on  a  rough 
road,  very  difficult  for  artillery,  to  advance  upon  Sienitza.  He  met 
a  Turkish  force  under  Mehemet  All  Pasha,  July  6th,  was  repulsed 
and  obliged  to  retreat.  He  was  wounded  in  the  engagement,  became 
discouraged  in  consequence  of  his  defeat,  fell  sick,  and  was  relieved 
by  Col.  Tcholak  Antitch. 

Gen.  Tchernayeff,  of  the  army  of  the  South,  having  ordered  Col. 
Milan  Ivanovitch  to  make  a  demonstration  against  Nissa  as  a  feint, 
marched  himself,  with  the  larger  part  of  his  army,  against  Ak  P#l- 
anka,  which  point,  with  Pirot,  he  captured  on  the  6th  of  July.  He 
had  expected  to  excite  a  rising  among  the  Bulgarians  and  receive 
reinforcements  from  them.  He  was  disappointed  in  this,  and  on  the 
10th  of  July  evacuated  Ak  Palanka  and  Pirot,  an'd  returned  to  Ser- 
via. The  remainder  of  July  was  occupied  with  movements  and 


192 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


skirmishes  which  were  unimportant  in  their  nature  and  had  no  im- 
portant results. 

The  Montenegrins  entered  upon  their  campaign  with  vigor.  The 
larger  part  of  their  little  army  was  massed  on  the  northern  frontier, 
ready  to  inarch  into  Herzegovina  and  co-operate  with  the  insurgents 
there.  A  small  force  was  kept  near  the  southern  boundary  of  the 
State  to  hold  in  check  the  Turkish  garrisons  in  the  neighboring 
towns  of  Albania.  The  first  operations  wore  directed  against 
Gatchko  and  the  columns  of  Selim  Pasha.  On  the  llth  of  July  a 
sharp  engagement  took  place  between  a  part  of  their  force  and  a 
command  of  Selim  Pasha's ;  on  the  same  day  Prince  Nicholas  occu- 
pied Stolatz,  and  another  force  drove  a  Turkish  command  near  Kick. 
The  Montenegrins  were  successful  in  engagements  with  Selim  Pasha 
on  the  16th  and  ITth  of  July,  but  on  the  18th  they  were  attacked 
by  Mukhtar  Pasha,  with  a  stronger  force,  and  defeated.  Mukhtar 
Pasha,  following  them  to  cut  off  their  retreat,  was  surprised  by  them 
shortly  after  leaving  the  cloister  of  Plana  on  the  28th.  The  Bashi- 
Bazouks  were  struck  with  panic  and  ran  away,  and  some  of  the 
regular  forces  shared  their  disorder.  The  Montenegrins,  perceiving 
this,  fell  upon  the  Turks  with  vigor,  cut  them  up  severely,  and  cap- 
tured Osman  Pasha,  the  commander  of  one  of  their  columns. 
Mukhtar  Pasha  retreated  to  Trebigne,  and  called  for  reinforcements. 
On  the  2d  of  September  he  again  crossed  the  Montenegrin  frontier 
and  intrenched  himself  at  Saslap,  where  a  Montenegrin  force  stood 
opposed  to  him,  but  no  important  engagement  took  place. 

In  the  south  the  Montenegrins  had  blockaded  Medun.  Mahmoud 
Pasha  attacked  them  on  the  15th  of  August  and  was  routed.  He 
was  court-martialled  and  superseded  by  Dervish  Pasha,  who,  on  the 
6th  of  September,  made  an  attempt  against  Rogatzi,  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  Moratcha.  The  Montenegrins  fell  upon  his  force  from 
their  superior  positions  on  the  rocks,  and  routed  it  with  a  terrible 
loss.  Another  attempt,  September  llth,  against  the  heights  of 
Welie  Brdo,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Zeta,  likewise  met  with  dis- 
aster. 

Toward  the  end  of  July  the  Turks  began  a  combined  operation 
against  the  line  of  the  Timok,  in  which  were  engaged  the  command 
of  Achmet  Eyub  Pasha,  supported  by  the  divisions  of  Suleiman 
Pasha  and  Osman  Pasha.  The  principal  objective  points  on  this 
line  were  Gurgussovatz  and  Saitchar,  with  their  dependent  posts. 

On  the  28th  of  July,  Osman  Pasha  made  a  demonstration  against 


INSURRECTION  OF  1875,  AND   WARS  OF  1876.  193 

the  advanced  posts  of  Gen.  Lieshanin,  and  forced  him  to  retreat 
to  Saitchar.  As  this  place  could  not  long  hold  out  against  an  earnest 
attack,  it  was  ordered  to  be  evacuated.  The  inhabitants  removed  all 
of  their  effects,  and  left  the  neighborhood.  Gen.  Lieshanin  retired 
\vith  his  forces  to  the  west,  and  left  Saitchar  to  be  occupied  by  Os- 
man  Pasha  on  the  6th  of  August. 

In  co-operation  with  this  movement,  Hafiz  Pasha  attacked  the 
Servians  at  Gramada,  and  compelled  them  to  withdraw  to  Gurgus- 
sovatz,  while  Suleiman  Pasha,  crossing  into  Servia  near  Pandiralo, 
obliged  Gen.  Horvatovitch  to  abandon  his  posts  on  the  border  and 
concentrate  his  force  at  Tresibaba,  south  of  Gurgussovatz.  The  two 
Turkish  columns  were  now  joined.  Achmet  Eyub  Pasha  took  com- 
mand in  person,  attacked  Tresibaba,  drove  Horvatovitch  into  Gur- 
gussovatz, and  compelled  him  to  evacuate  that  place  also  on  the  6th 
of  August. 

These  movements  had  been  made  with  the  view  of  advancing  upon 
Alexinatz,  the  ultimate  object  of  the  Turkish  campaign  from  Widin. 
But  the  Turks  had  hardly  possessed  themselves  of  the  two  chief 
points  on  the  line  of  the  Timok  than  their  plans  were  changed,  and 
it  was  decided  that  the  advance  against  Alexinatz  should  be  made 
from  Nissa,  on  the  southern,  or  Bulgarian  Morava.  Accordingly, 
Gurgussovatz  and  Saitchar  were  evacuated,  and  by  the  20th  of  August, 
Horvatovitch  was  again  in  possession  of  all  the  posts  he  had  occu- 
pied near  the  former  place. 

The  Turks,  having  concentrated  their  forces  at  Nissa,  with  Abdul 
Kerim  Pasha  in  command,  began  their  attacks  against  Alexinatz  on 
the  19th  of  August.  Six  days  of  hard  fighting  ensued,  till  the  24th, 
which  have  collectively  received  the  name  of  the  battle  of  Alexinatz. 
The  Servians  fought  with  vigor,  and  held  all  their  essential  positions. 
The  Turks,  having  failed  to  carry  their  point,  and  having  learned 
that  Horvatovitch  was  corning  up  from  Gurgussovatz  to  attack  their 
right  flank,  fell  back  exhausted,  on  the  morning  of  the  25th,  upon 
Katun.  The  Servian  loss  in  these  battles  was  1,613  killed  and 
wounded  ;  that  of  the  Turks  was  considerably  greater,  but  is  not  ex- 
actly known. 

Abdul  Kerim  Pasha  again  changed  his  plans,  and  determined  to 
gather  his  army  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Morava,  extending  it  further 
to  the  west,  and  going  around  Alexinatz  and  Deligrad,  to  descend 
the  valley  on  that  side.  He  proceeded  to  attempt  this  movement  on 
the  28th  of  August.  Tchernayeff  was  surprised  on  the  1st  of  Sep- 


194 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


teinber,  and  an  engagement  ensued  by  which  the  Servians  were  com- 
pelled to  retreat  in  disorder.  The  Servians  would  have  been  placed 
in  great  peril,  but  the  Turks,  suffering  from  a  shortness  of  supplies, 
were  obliged  to  remain  quiet  while  Tchernayeff  reorganized  his 
forces.  Unimportant  engagements  occurred  on  the  7th,  10th,  llth, 
and  13th  of  September.  On  the  16th,  hostilities  were  suspended 
for  ten  days  by  the  operation  of  an  armistice. 

While  the  military  movements  were  in  progress,  changes  of  much 
importance  had  taken  place  in  the  Turkish  Government,  and  the 
condition  and  relations  of  the  belligerent  parties  had  been  made  the 
subject  of  new  negotiations  with  the  Great  Powers.  The  reign  of 
Murad  Y.  as  Sultan  was  brief  and  inglorious.  The  deposition  and 
death  of  Sultan  Abdul  Aziz  had  been  followed  on  the  15th  of  June 
by  the  murder  of  Hussein  Avni,  Minister  of  War,  and  Reshid 
Pasha,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  while  at  a  cabinet  council,  to- 
gether with  the  Grand  Admiral  and  a  retainer  of  one  of  the  minis- 
ters, by  the  assassin  Hassan  Bey,  who  was  seeking  to  gratify  a  per- 
sonal animosity.  In  less  than  three  months,  Murad  proved  to  be 
physically  and  mentally  incompetent.  He  fell  into  fits  of  melan- 
choly and  stupor,  and  was  declared  incurable.  The  Sheik-ul-Islam 
was  again  consulted,  and  decided  that  it  was  lawful  to  depose  him. 
He  was  accordingly  deposed  on  the  last  day  of  August.  Abdul 
Hamid,  a  younger  brother  of  Murad's,  the  next  in  the  order  of  suc- 
cession, was  named  as  the  new  Sultan,  and  was  girded  with  the 
sword  of  Othman  on  the  7th  of  September.  He  issued  an  Imperial 
JIat,  or  decree,  on  the  9th  of  September,  confirming  the  former  min- 
isters and  higher  officers  in  their  positions,  and  making  the  promises 
of  reforms  which  are  customary  with  the  new  Sultans  of  Turkey. 
Abdul  Kerim  Pasha  having  gone  to  the  field  to  take  the  command 
of  the  army,  Halil  Redif  Pasha  was  appointed  'Minister  of  War  in 
his  place,  and  Savfet  Pasha  was  appointed  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  in  place  of  the  assassinated  Reshid  Pasha. 

The  Servian  Government  about  this  time  narrowly  escaped  being 
placed  in  an  embarrassing  position  through  the  indiscreet  action  of 
Gen.  Tchernayeff  and  his  officers,  who,  at  a  festival  given  at  Deligrad 
on  the  16th  of  September,  proclaimed  Prince  Milan  King  of  Servia. 
That  more  than  an  after-dinner  compliment  was  intended  was  assured 
by  the  formal  publication  of  the  proclamation  on  the  next  day  to  the 
army,  and  the  reading  of  an  address  to  King  Milan  L,  Obrenovitch, 
as  "  in  the  name  of  the  heroic  Servian  people."  A  deputation  was 


INSURRECTION  OF  1875,  AND   WARS  OF  1876.  197 

sent  up  from  the  army  to  communicate  the  proceedings  to  Milan, 
and  to  invite  him  to  accept  the  honor  which  they  had  tendered  to 
him.  The  act  was  disquieting  to  the  neighboring  powers,  and  might 
have  been  made  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  progress  of  the  negotiations, 
but  that  Prince  Milan  disavowed  all  complicity  with  it,  and  caused 
the  deputation  from  the  army  to  be  sent  back  before  it  had  reached 
the  capital. 

Skirmishing  had  been  going  on  through  September  between  the 
Turks  and  Servians  on  the  Morava  and  around  Alexinatz.  It  had 
hardly  been  interrupted  by  the  nominal  suspension  of  hostilities 
between  the  16th  and  25th.  The  first  important  engagement  was 
the  battle  of  Weliki  Shiliegovatz,  on  the  19th  of  October,  one  of  the 
results  of  which  was  that  the  Turks  got  a  better  position  as  against 
the  Servians.  It  was  followed  on  the  23d  by  another  movement,  by 
which  the  Turks  gained  positions  on  the  Djunis  stream,  enabling 
them  to  divide  the  Servian  army.  The  Servians  were  again  de- 
feated on  the  29th  of  October  in  the  battle  of  Trubarevo.  General 
Horvatovitch  was  driven  back  upon  Krushevatz,  and  General 
Tchernayeff  was  compelled  to  retreat  to  Deligrad  and  abandon  Alexi- 
natz. On  the  next  day  the  Turks  fired  upon  Alexinatz,  and  were 
not  answered.  On  the  31st  they  fired  upon  it  again,  and,  receiving 
no  reply,  entered  the  place,  to  find  it  empty  of  men  and  provisions. 

The  Servian  army  was  in  a  desperate  condition.  It  had  suffered 
many  defeats  and  had  been  compelled  to  abandon  the  strongest  for- 
tified position  of  the  country.  It  had  also  been  disturbed  by  inter- 
nal dissensions  and  quarrels  between  its  Russian  and  Servian  ele- 
ments, and  was  so  demoralized  that  it  was  nearly  broken  up.  The 
Servian  cause  seemed  certain  to  be  lost,  when  Russia  saved  it  on 
the  evening  of  the  last  day  of  October,  by  presenting  to  the  Porte 
an  ultimatum  demanding  immediate  assent  to  the  armistice. 

Quite  different  was  the  situation  at  this  time  in  Montenegro.  The 
suspension  of  hostilities  had  been  well  observed  here.  On  the  9th 
of  October,  Mukhtar  Pasha  made  an  attack  on  the  Montenegrins,  but 
they  turned  upon  him,  drove  him  out  of  his  intrenchments,  and  sent 
him  into  Turkish  territory.  The  Turks  were  also  defeated  in  lighter 
engagements  at  Liubigne  and  Bilek.  On  the  southern  border  of  the 
State,  Dervish  Pasha  undertook  to  invade  the  country  along  the 
Zeta.  He  had  advanced  a  short  distance  when  he  was  attacked  at 
Zagarash,  October  16th,  and  decisively  defeated.  Fort  Medun  ca- 
pitulated on  the  21si:  of  October,  and  not  only  was  Montenegro  free 


1 98  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

from  the  presence  of  the  Turks,  but  the  Montenegrins  had  gained 
positions  on  Turkish  territory. 

The  progress  of  events  in  the  Balkan  peninsula  was  observed 
with  interest  by  the  people  of  all  Europe.  The  Russians  sympa- 
thized deeply  in  the  struggles  of  their  Slavic  brethren,  and  gave 
them  moral  and  material  aid,  so  that  especially  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  campaign  the  Servian  army  was  considerably  reinforced  by 
Russian  recruits,  and  largely  under  the  command  of  Russians  as 
officers.  The  Government  took  no  pains  to  repress  these  manifes- 
tations, but  rather  encouraged  them  by  public  utterances  in  favor  of 
the  Slavic  cause,  and  by  making  preparations  which  indicated  that 
war  in  their  behalf  was  not  improbable.  In  its  diplomatic  commu- 
nications it  spoke  more  freely  of  righting  the  wrongs  of  the  Slavic 
people,  less  of  the  necessity  of  preserving  peace.  The  English 
people  were  powerfully  moved  by  the  reports  of  the  outrages  which 
had  been  committed  in  Bosnia  and  Bulgaria  by  the  unrestrained 
Turkish  soldiery,  and  made,  through  the  press  and  public  meetings, 
demonstrative  protests  against  the  conciliatory  course  of  their  Gov- 
ernment. The  British  Government,  committed  to  its  traditional 
policy  of  preserving  the  integrity  of  the  Turkish  Empire,  and  oppos- 
ing whatever  might  look  like  aggressive  movements  by  Russia,  was 
slow  to  support  the  other  powers  in  their  demands  upon  the  Ottoman 
Government  for  guarantees  of  the  reforms  which  it  could  not  be 
denied  were  necessary,  and  was  often  credited  with  having  suggested 
to  the  Porte  the  ingenious  counter -propositions  with  which  it 
answered  every  successive  demand  of  the  powers  and  evaded  imme- 
diate decisive  action.  The  other  powers  professed  to  regard  the 
questions  at  issue  solely  from  the  point  of  their  own  interests,  and 
to  favor  what  would  most  readily  restore  and  preserve  peace,  but 
declined  to  commit  themselves  in  advance  as  to  what  their  course 
would  be  should  matters  come  to  a  breach. 

While  the  summer  campaigns  were  going  on  in  Servia,  the  powers 
were  trying,  at  both  Belgrade  and  Constantinople,  to  arrange  a  settle- 
ment. The  Servians  averred  that  they  were  fighting  for  Slavic 
freedom,  and  would  accept  no  other  solution.  The  Porte  pleaded 
that  it  was  preparing,  as  fast  as  possible,  a  scheme  for  reforms  and 
self-government  that  would  embrace  the  whole  Empire,  and  could 
not  be  hurried.  Finally,  on  the  14th  of  September,  Savfet  Pasha 
communicated  the  terms  on  which  the  Ottoman  Government  would 
make  peace.  They  were :  That  the  Prince  of  Servia  should  pay 


INSURRECTION  OF  1875,  AND  WARS  OF  1876.  199 

homage  to  the  Sultan ;  that  four  fortresses  which  had  been  given 
up  to  him  in  1867  should  be  again  occupied  by  the  Turks  ;  that  the 
Servian  militia  should  be  abolished,  and  the  number  of  troops 
allowed  for  the  preservation  of  order  in  the  interior  of  the  princi- 
pality limited  ;  that  Servia  should  return  to  their  homes  all  the 
refugees  from  other  provinces  within  its  territory  and  destroy  the 
fortresses  which  it  had  recently  built ;  that  the  amount  of  tribute 
paid  by  Servia  should  be  increased  so  as  to  cover  the  interest  on  a 
war  indemnity  ;  that  the  Turkish  Government  should  be  allowed  to 
build  and  operate  a  railway  from  Belgrade  to  Nissa,  and  that  the 
relations  with  Montenegro  should  be  the  same  -as  before  the  war. 
The  powers  replied  on  the  23d,  ignoring  all  the  points  of  the  Turkish 
position,  asking  self-government  for  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  a  sea- 
port to  be  given  to  Montenegro,  an  improved  organization  for 
Bulgaria,  with  a  Christian  governor  to  be  appointed  by  the  Porte, 
and  as  to  Servia,  a  restoration  of  the  status  quo,  except  that  an  in- 
demnity might  be  charged  for  the  damage  occasioned  by  the  war. 
An  informal  suspension  of  hostilities  was  obtained  from  the  16th  to 
the  25th  of  September. 

On  the  7th  of  October  the  representatives  of  the  powers  called 
for  an  armistice  of  six  weeks.  The  Porte  responded  with  a  proposi- 
tion for  an  armistice  of  six  months,  and  at  the  same  time  communi- 
cated the  draft  of  a  Constitution  which  had  been  prepared  for  the 
whole  Empire,  embodying  the  principles  and  more  important  pro- 
visions of  the  most  liberal  constitutions  of  European  States,  together 
with  laws  which  had  been  framed  for  the  better  organization  of  the 
civil  administrations  and  courts  of  justice,  and  for  the  more  equitable 
collection  of  taxes  in  the  provinces. 

General  Ignatieff,  the  Russian  Ambassador  at  the  Porte,  had  re- 
turned to  Constantinople  after  an  absence  of  several  weeks,  and 
renewed  the  demand  of  his  Government  for  a  concession  of  the 
autonomy  of  the  provinces  and  the  introduction  of  the  promised 
reforms,  and  for  an  armistice,  during  which  the  reforms  should  be 
carried  into  execution.  While  he  was  waiting  for  the  answer  of  the 
Sultan,  the  Turkish  victories  at  Trubarevo  had  placed  the  Servian 
army  in  imminent  peril.  He  was  then  instructed  by  his  Government 
to  present  the  Russian  ultimatum.  He  had  an  interview  with 
Savfet  Pasha  on  the  afternoon  of  the  31st  of  October,  at  which  he 
stated  that  the  rising  in  Servia  and  Montenegro  had  excited  in  the 
Russian  nation  a  lively,  enthusiastic  interest.  The  Czar,  who  shared 


200  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

in  the  sympathies  of  his  people  for  the  Christian  inhabitants  of  the 
Balkan  peninsula,  had  endeavored  with  the  other  powers  to  restore 
peace  and  order.  They  were  all  agreed  that  the  States  involved  in 
the  complications  should  be  restored  to  as  good  a  condition  as  the}7 
enjoyed  before  the  war,  and  that  continued  bloodshed  was  useless. 
The  Czar  could  not  suffer  any  longer  pr^tractioti  of  the  negotiations 
respecting  an  armistice ;  therefore  he  had  decided  to.  withdraw  his 
entire  embassy  from  Constantinople,  if  within  forty-eight  hours 
from  this  time  an  unconditional  armistice  of  from  six  weeks  to  two 
months,  embracing  all  the  combatants,  and  involving  an  entire  sus- 
pension of  military  operations,  were  not  in  operation.  Having 
delivered  the  note,  General  Ignatieff  made  ostensible  preparations 
to  leave  Constantinople.  The  next  day  (November  1st)  he  re- 
ceived the  answer  of  Savfet  Pasha  conveying  the  unconditional 
agreement  of  the  Porte  to  an  armistice  of  two  months,  beginning 
with  that  day.  On  the  4th  of  November,  Earl  Derby,  in  behalf  of 
the  British  Government,  issued  a  circular  note  calling  for  a  confer- 
ence of  all  the  great  powers,  at  which  the  Porte  should  also  be  rep- 
resented, to  meet  at  Constantinople.  The  circular  proposed  as  a 
"basis  for  the  deliberations  of  the  conference : — the  independence  and 
territorial  integrity  of  the  Ottoman  Empire  ;  a  declaration  that  the 
powers  will  not  seek  for  any  territorial  advantages,  exclusive  influ- 
ence, or  special  concessions  ;  the  basis  of  pacification  to  be  the  terms 
which  had  been  proposed  to  the  Porte  on  the  21st  of  September, 
including  the  restoration  of  the  status  quo  in  Servia  and  Mon- 
tenegro, and  the  undertaking  by  the  Porte  in  a  protocol  to  be 
signed  at  Constantinople  with  the  representatives  of  the  mediating 
powers,  to  grant  to  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  a  system  of  local  or  ad- 
ministrative autonomy,  with  guarantees  of  a  similar  kind  to  be  pro- 
vided against  maladministration  in  Bulgaria ;  the  reforms  already 
agreed  to  by  the  Porte  in  February,  1876,  to  be  included  in  the  ad- 
ministrative arrangements  for  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  and,  so  far 
as  they  might  be  applicable,  for  Bulgaria.  The  powers  all  gave 
their  assent  to  the  proposition  for  a  conference,  Turkey  responding 
last,  with  hesitation,  and  only  at  the  pressing  request  of  England, 
on  the  18th  of  November.  Lord  Derby  had  proposed  that  each 
power  should  send  a  special  Ambassador  to  attend  the  conference,  in 
addition  to  its  regular  representative  at  the  Porte.  Austria  sent 
Baron  Calice  to  act  as  the  associate  of  its  Ambassador,  Count  Zichy ; 
France,  Count  Chaudordy,  to  support  Count  Bourgoing ;  England, 


INSURRECTION  OF  1875,  AND   WARS  OF  1876.  2OI 

the  Marquis  of  Salisbury,  to  act  with  Sir  Henry  Elliot,  and  Turkey 
recalled  Edhem  Pasha  from  Berlin  to  assist  its  Foreign  Minister, 
Savfet  Pasha.  Of  these  special  envoys,  the  Marquis  of  Salisbury 
was  a  distinguished  statesman  and  publicist  of  England,  a  writer  of 
considerable  fame.  He  had  been  Secretary  of  State  for  India  in 
the  third  Cabinet  of  Lord  Derby,  1866  to  1867,  and  had  at  the  time 
of  his  appointment  on  this  mission  held  the  same  position  in  the 
Cabinet  of  Mr.  Disraeli  (or  Earl  Beacomsfield)  since  1874.  He  was 
known  to  take  a  warm  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  Christian  sub- 
jects of  Turkey,  being  associated  with  Earl  Derby  as  one  of  the 
members  of  the  cabinet  who  opposed  the  tendency  of  their  chief  to 
regard  the  question  from  the  Turkish  point  of  view ;  and  in  con- 
nection with  this  mission,  he  visited  several  of  the  continental 
courts  to  consult  with  their  ministers  regarding  the  measures  which 
it  would  be  possible  to  take  in  the  interests  of  peace  and  humanity. 

Count  Chaudordy,  the  French  envoy,  had  been  in  the  French  dip- 
lomatic service  a  large  part  of  the  time  since  1850.  In  1870,  as 
representative  of  the  Foreign  Office  at  Tours,  he  published  several 
circulars  in  answer  to  the  notes  of  Count  Bismarck,  and  repelled  the 
charges  made  by  the  German  Chancellor  that  the  French  had  been, 
guilty  of  violations  of  the  Convention  of  Geneva.  He  was  chosen 
a  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  in  1871,  and  took  his  seat 
on  the  Right.  At  the  time  of  his  appointment  to  Constantinople^ 
he  was  Ambassador  to  Madrid. 

A  preliminary  conference  was  opened  on  the  12th  of  December, 
of  the  representatives  of  all  the  powers  except  Turkey,  to  arrange 
a  programme  of  the  conditions  which  it  should  be  judged  necessary 
to  require  for  the  protection  of  the  Christians  of  the  Balkan 
provinces.  This  conference  adjourned  on  the  21st,  having  agreed 
to  demand  the  restoration  of  the  status  quo.  as  to  Servia  and  Mon^- 
tenegro,  with  the  addition  of  the  cession  of  Little  Zvornik  by  Turkey 
to  Servia,  and  the  rectification  of  the  boundaries  of  Montenegro,  by 
giving  to  it  those  angles  of  Herzegovina  which  project  into  its  ter- 
ritory about  Trebigne  and  Nicsic  ;  a  considerable  extension  of ;  Bul- 
garia to  the  west  and  south,  and  the  division  of  the  territory  thus 
enlarged  into  two  Yilayets,  with  local  self-government,  under  a 
Governor- General  for  the  two  provinces,  to  be  appointed  by  the 
Porte  with  the  approval  of  the  powers,  a  provincial-  assembly, 
militia,  police  force,  and  gendarmerie,  composed  of  Christians 
and  Mussulmans;  the  union  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  into  one 


202  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

province,  with  similar  privileges  of  administration ;  and  the  institu- 
tion of  an  international  commission,  to  be  appointed  by  the  guaran- 
teeing powers,  to  watch  over  the  introduction  of  the  reforms,  and 
be  supported  by  a  foreign  gendarmerie. 

The  conference  proper  was  opened  on  the  23d  of  December,  Sav- 
f et  Pasha,  Turkish  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  presiding.  The  Turks 
had  prepared  a  dramatic  incident  to  add  effect  to  their  part  of  the 
proceedings.  As  soon  as  the  preliminary  formalities  of  the  opening 
of  the  conference  were  over,  salvos  of  artillery  were  heard.  The 
President  explained  that  this  demonstration  was  in  honor  of  the 
adoption  of  the  new  Constitution,  the  proclamation  of  which  placed 
Turkey  on  that  day  in  the  rank  of  Constitutional  States.  This  Con- 
stitution was  the  work  of  Midhat  Pasha,  who  had,  a  short  time 
before,  succeeded  Rushdi  Pasha  as  Grand  Vizier,  and  was  promul- 
gated as  the  fundamental  law  of  the  whole  Empire.  It  embodied 
the  leading  principles  of  the  most  liberal  constitutions  of  "Western 
Europe.  Proclaiming  the  Empire  indivisible  with  the  Sultan  as 
Caliph  and  sovereign  supreme  and  inviolable,  it  declared  the  in- 
violability of  personal  freedom,  property,  and  the  domicile,  the 
freedom  of  religious  worship,  while  Mohammedanism  should  be  the 
religion  of  the  State,  the  equality  of  all  subjects  before  the  law,  and 
their  right  to  speedy  and  impartial  justice,  the  freedom  of  the  press 
and  instruction,  while  primary  instruction  should  be  made  obliga- 
tory. It  made  the  ministry  responsible,  and  established  a  legislative 
Assembly,  to  consist  of  Senators  appointed  by  the  Sultan  for  life, 
and  a  Chamber  of  Deputies,  whose  members  should  be  chosen  by 
the  people  by  secret  ballot,  in  the  proportion  of  one  deputy  for 
every  fifty  thousand  inhabitants,  and  should  serve  for  four  years ; 
the  deputies  to  be  free  in  their  votes  and  unrestricted  in  the  ex- 
pression of  their  opinions ;  the  Legislature  to  be  in  session  every 
year  from  November  till  March.  It  established  elective  provincial 
assemblies,  to  legislate  for  the  provinces,  cantonal  and  municipal 
councils,  made  regulations  for  the  courts,  consisting  of  a  High  Court, 
for  the  trial  of  official  offenders,  a  court  of  cassation  or  accounts, 
and  ordinary  courts,  and  secured  the  independence  of  the  judges. 
The  Constitution  was  declared  unalterable,  except  by  a  vote  of  two- 
thirds  of  both  chambers,  with  the  approval  of  the  Sultan. 

On  the  28th  of  December,  the  armistice  was  extended  till  the 
1st  of  March.  The  terms  agreed  upon  in  the  preliminary  confer- 
ence were  rejected  by  the  Porte  as  involving  violations  of  the  Con- 


THE    MARQUIS    OF    SALISBURY. 


EDHEM    PASHA. 


INSURRECTION  OF  1875,  AND   WARS  OF  1876.  205 

stitution  just  adopted,  and  being  incompatible  with  the  sovereignty 
of  the  Empire. 

A  new  proposition  was  presented  to  Turkey,  in  which  the  cession 
of  Little  Zvornik  to  Servia,  and  the  points  in  reference  to  the  addi- 
tions to  Montenegro  were  modified  so  as  to  meet  the  expressed 
views  of  the  Porte.  The  plan  for  the  reorganization  of  Bulgaria 
was  wholly  changed.  The  demand  for  a  reserve  of  the  power  of 
approval  of  the  appointment  of  the  provincial  governors  was  limited 
to  five  years  of  operation,  and  the  scheme  for  a  commission  to  watch 
over  the  introduction  of  the  reforms  was  modified  so  as  to  make  the 
commission  a  mixed  one.  The  plenipotentiaries  declared  that  if 
these  propositions  were  rejected,  they  would  leave  Constantinople. 
On  the  20th  of  January,  1878,  Savfet  Pasha  read  a  note*  in  the 
conference,  announcing  that  Turkey  declined  to  accede  to  the 
propositions,  and  giving  the  reasons  for  its  action.  The  conference 
was  then  declared  closed.  The  special  Ambassadors  shortly  after- 
ward withdrew  from  Constantinople. 

On  the  25th  of  January,  Savfet  Pasha  issued  a  circular,  explain- 
ing that  the  Porte  had  rejected  the  proposals  made  at  the  con- 
ference, first  because  they  were  part  of  a  programme  which  had 
been  settled  beforehand  at  a  conference  from  which  Turkey  was 
excluded;  and,  second,  because  in  making  them  the  plenipoten- 
tiaries had  entirely  lost  sight  of  one  of  the  fundamental  conditions 
of  the  conference — non-intervention  in  the  affairs  of  the  Turkish 
Empire,  and  had  demanded  conditions  such  as  no  Government  could 
accept  which  wished  to  preserve  its  independence,  and  that,  too, 
when  a  Constitution  had  been  granted,  assuring  to  the  whole  Empire 
privileges  which  the  powers  demanded  for  certain  provinces  only. 

On  the  31st  of  January,  Prince  Gortchakoff,  Chancellor  of  the 
Russian  Empire,  issued  a  circular  note  reciting  the  failure  of  all  the 
attempts  to  pacify  Turkey  and  of  the  conference,  and  inquiring 
what  the  powers  intended  to  do  next. 

On  the  5th  of  February,  Midhat  Pasha,  the  Turkish  Grand 
Yizier,  was  dismissed ;  Edhem  Pasha  was  appointed  in  his  place, 
and  a  new  cabinet  was  formed.  The  act  was  a  general  surprise, 
and  was  variously  accounted  for.  An  official  circular  stated  that  it 
was  because  the  Yizier  had  failed  to  oppose  plans  against  the  pre- 
rogatives of  the  Sultan  and  the  public  tranquillity  which  it  was  his 
duty  to  prevent. 

In  March,  the  Russian  Government  invited  the  powers  to  agree  to 


206  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

a  protocol  to  be  signed  by  them  and  Turkey,  pledging  the  execu- 
tion of  the  reforms  demanded  and  promised,  failing  the  realization 
of  which,  within  a  reasonable  time,  the  powers  should  come  to  an 
understanding  as  to  what  should  be  done.  This  was  agreed  to  by 
the  other  powers,  and  the  protocol  was  signed  March  31st  by  the 
representatives  of  England,  Russia,  France,  Germany,  Austria,  and 
Italy.  In  this  paper  the  Porte  was  invited  to  conclude  the  pacifica- 
tion of  the  principalities  "  by  replacing  its  armies  on  a  peace  footing, 
excepting  the  number  of  troops  indispensable  for  maintaining  order, 
and  by  putting  in  hand,  with  the  least  possible  delay,  the  reforms 
necessary  for  the  tranquillity  and  well-being  of  the  provinces,  the  con- 
dition of  which  was  discussed  at  the  conference;"  the  readiness  of 
the  Porte  to  realize  an  important  part  of  the  reforms  was  recognized  ; 
a  proposition  was  made  to  watch  over  the  manner  in  which  they 
should  be  carried  into  effect ;  and  the  intention  was  reserved,  if  the 
condition  of  the  Christian  provinces  were  not  improved,  to  consider 
what  further  steps  would  be  necessary.  The  protocol  was  presented 
to  the  Porte  for  its  signature  April  3d,  and  was  immediately  rejected, 
with  decision.  In  a  note  conveying  its  rejection  formally,  the  Turk- 
ish Government  said  it  could  not  see  how  it  had  deserved  so  ill  of 
justice  and  civilization  as  to  see  itself  placed  in  a  humiliating  posi- 
tion without  example  in  the  world.  "  The  Treaty  of  Paris,"  reads 
the  note,  "  gave  an  explicit  sanction  to  the  principle  of  non-inter- 
vention. This  treaty,  which  binds  together  the  powers  who  partici- 
pate in  it,  as  well  as  Turkey,  can  not  be  abolished  by  a  protocol 

in  which  Turkey,  has  no  share Turkey  feels  that  she  is 

now  contending  for  her  existence,"  but  "  strong  in  the  justice  of  her 
cause,  and  trusting  in  God,  she  determines  to  ignore  what  has  been  de- 
cided without  her  and  against  her  ;  resolved  to  retain  in  the  world  the 
place  which  Providence  has  destined  for  her  in  this  regard,  she  will  not 
cease  to  encounter  the  attacks  directed  against  her,  with  the  general 
principles  of  public  right  and  the  authority  of  a  great  European  act, 
which  pledges  the  honor  of  the  powers  that  signed  the  protocol  of 
the  31st  of  March,  a  document  which,  in  her  eyes,  has  no  legal  claim 
to  exact  compliance."  This  note  was  presented  to  the  Russian  Gov- 
ernment on  the  12th  of  April.  On  the  24th  of  the  same  month  Rus- 
sia declared  war  against  Turkey.  Before  proceeding  to  narrate  the 
action  of  the  Russian  Government,  it  is  necessary  to  mention  a  few 
other  events,  which  had  a  bearing  upon  the  situation  and  attitude  of 
Turkey. 


INSURRECTION  OF  1875,  AND   WARS  OF  1876.  207 

Negotiations  for  peace  were  begun  in  January  between  Turkey 
and  Servia  and  Montenegro,  independently  of  the  action  of  the  pow- 
ers. Peace  was  concluded  with  Servia  on  the  27th  of  February,  on 
the  basis  of  the  maintenance  of  the  status  quo  ante  Vellum,  the  grant- 
ing of  an  amnesty,  and  the  evacuation  of  Servian  territory  by  the 
Turkish  troops  within  twelve  days.  Servia  agreed  to  erect  no  more 
fortifications,  to  hoist  the  Ottoman  flag  by  the  side  of  that  of  Servia 
on  the  existing  forts,  and  to  prevent  armed  bands  from  crossing  the 
frontier.  The  terms  were  approved  by  the  Great  Skupstchina,  at  a 
session  called  especially  to  consider  them,  on  the  28th  of  March.  The 
Montenegrins  demanded  a  rectification  of  their  frontier,  with  additions 
to  their  territory,  the  cession  of  the  seaport  of  Spizza,  the  free  navi- 
gation of  the  Lake  of  Scutari  and  the  river  Bayana,  the  restoration 
of  the  Herzegoviuian  refugees  to  their  homes,  and  a  new  modus 
vivendi  with  Turkey.  The  Porte  declined  to  accede  to  these  de- 
mands. They  were  modified,  and  the  negotiations  were  resumed,  to 
be  broken  off  finally  on  the  refusal  of  Turkey  to  cede  Nicsic  to  Mon- 
tenegro. 

The  insurrectionary  movements  in  Bosnia  were  renewed  early  in 
the  spring,  when  bands  of  insurgents  appeared  in  several  quarters, 
and  a  number  of  skirmishes  took  place.  The  most  prominent  of  the 
new  leaders  was  Col.  Despotovitch,  a  Servian  by  birth,  who  had 
served  in  the  Russian  Imperial  Guard  and  the  Servian  army. 

The  first  Turkish  Parliament  under  the  new  Constitution  was 
opened  March  19th,  by  the  Sultan  in  person.  The  Sultan,  in  the 
"  Speech  from  the  Throne,"  said  of  the  conference :  "  The  disagree- 
ment between  my  Government  and  the  powers  rests  rather  in  the 
form  and  method  of  application  than  in  the  substance  of  the  ques- 
tion. All  my  efforts  will  be  devoted  toward  bringing  to  perfection 
the  progress  which  has  already  been  realized  in  the  situation  of  the 
Empire,  and  in  all  the  branches  of  its  administration.  But  I  consider 
it  to  be  one  of  my  most  important  duties  to  remove  any  cause  which 
may  be  detrimental  to  the  dignity  and  independence  of  my  Empire. 
I  leave  to  time  the  task  of  proving  the  sincerity  of  my  intentions  of 
reconciliation."  The  reply  to  this  address  was  discussed  in  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies  in  secret  session,  when,  it  is  said,  the  speakers 
were  unanimous  in  favor  of  rejecting  absolutely  all  foreign  interven- 
tion in  the  internal  affairs  of  Turkey. 


SECOND    BOOK. 


THE    EASTERN  WAR  OP   1877-1878. 


SECOND    BOOK. 


THE   EASTERN  WAR   OF   1877-1878. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   RUSSIAN   DECLARATION   OF   WAR. 

The  Russian  War  Manifesto— Prince  GortchakofTs  Circular— The  Turkish  Reply— The 
Army  of  the  Pruth,  its  Composition  and  Commanders — Total  Strength  of  the  Russian 
Armies — Crossing  of  the  Pruth — Occupation  of  Galatz  and  Braila — Convention  be- 
tween Russia  and  Rumania — Turkish  Protest — Declaration  of  Rumanian  Independ- 
ence— Strength  of  the  Rumanian  Army — The  Seat  of  War — The  Defenses  of  Turkey 
— The  Danube  and  its  Fortresses — The  Turkish  Quadrilateral — The  Country  beyond 
the  Balkans — Strength  and  Condition  of  the  Turkish  Forces — Operations  on  the 
Danube. 

THE  prompt  and  determined  rejection  by  the  Ottoman  Porte  of 
the  London  protocol  as  being  a  violation  of  the  independence  of 
Turkey,  left  little,  if  any,  hope  for  the  preservation  of  peace. 
Though  it  was  not  immediately  followed  by  a  declaration  of  war  on 
the  part  of  Russia,  warlike  movements  began  at  once.  The  Russian 
army  in  Bessarabia  rapidly  advanced  toward  the  Pruth,  and  the 
Turks  were  hastening  the  erection  of  works  in  front  of  Kalafat,  with 
a  view,  it  was  thought,  to  cross  to  the  Rumanian  side.  When,  on 
April  20th,  the  Emperor  of  Russia  left  for  Kishenev,  it  was  generally 
understood  that  his  arrival  at  the  headquarters  of  the  Russian  army 
would  be  immediately  followed  by  a  declaration  of  war.  Having 
reached  Kishenev,  the  Czar,  on  April  23d,  reviewed  his  troops  on  the 
banks  of  the  Pruth,  and  on  the  following  day  he  issued  the  anxiously 
awaited  manifesto  to  his  army,  which  informed  the  world  that  peace 
was  at  last  broken,  and  that  the  two  great  countries  of  Eastern 
Europe  were  in  a  state  of  war.  Few  public  documents  of  the 

(211) 


212  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

nineteenth  century  have  been  read  with  a  more  intense  interest,  and 
however  much  views  differed  on  the  justice  of  the  cause  for  which 
the  Emperor  pleaded,  it  was  felt  on  all  sides  that  this  manifesto 
would  rank  among  the  most  notable  addresses  issued  since  the  days 
of  the  French  Revolution.  The  manifesto  is  as  follows : 

"  Our  faithful  and  beloved  subjects  know  the  strong  interest  we 
have  constantly  felt  in  the  destinies  of  the  oppressed  Christian  popu- 
lation of  Turkey.  Our  desire  to  ameliorate  and  assure  their  lot  has 
been  shared  by  the  whole  Russian  nation,  which  now  shows  itself 
ready  to  bear  fresh  sacrifices  to  alleviate  the  position  of  the  Chris- 
tians in  the  Balkan  peninsula. 

"  The  blood  and  property  of  our  faithful  subjects  have  always 
been  dear  to  us,  and  our  whole  reign  attests  our  constant  solici- 
tude to  preserve  to  Russia  the  benefits  of  peace.  This  solicitude 
never  failed  to  actuate  us  during  the  deplorable  events  which  oc- 
curred in  Herzegovina,  Bosnia  and  Bulgaria.  Our  object  before  all 
was  to  effect  amelioration  in  the  position  of  the  Christians  in  the 
East  by  means  of  pacific  negotiations ;  and  in  concert  with  the  great 
European  Powers,  our  allies  and  friends,  for  two  years  we  have  made 
incessant  efforts  to  induce  the  Porte  to  effect  such  reforms  as  would 
protect  the  Christians  in  Bosnia,  Herzegovina  and  Bulgaria  from 
the  arbitrary  measures  of  local  authorities.  The  accomplishment  of 
these  reforms  was  absolutely  stipulated-  by  anterior  engagements  con- 
tracted by  the  Porte  toward  the  whole  of  Europe. 

"  Our  efforts,  supported  by  diplomatic  representations  made  in 
common  by  the  other  Governments,  have  not,  however,  attained 
their  object.  The  Porte  has  remained  unshaken  in  its  formal  refusal 
of  any  effective  guarantee  for  the  security  of  its  Christian  subjects, 
and  has  rejected  the  conclusions  of  the  Constantinople  conference. 
Wishing  to  essay  every  possible  means  of  conciliation  in  order  to 
persuade  the  Porte,  we  proposed  to  the  other  Cabinets  to  draw  up  a 
special  protocol,  comprising  the  most  essential  conditions  of  the  Con- 
stantinople conference,  and  to  invite  the  Turkish  Government  to  ad- 
here to  this  international  act,  which  states  the  extreme  limits  of  our 
peaceful  demands.  But  our  expectation  was  not  fulfilled.  The 
Porte  did  not  defer  to  this  unanimous  wish  of  Christian  Europe, 
and  did  not  adhere  to  the  conclusions  of  the  protocol. 

"  Having  exhausted  pacific  efforts,  we  are  compelled  by  the 
haughty  obstinacy  of  the  Porte  to  proceed  to  more  decisive  acts,  feel- 


THE  RUSSIAN  DECLARATION  OF  WAR. 


213 


ing  that  our  equity  and  our  own  dignity  enjoin  it.     By  her  refusal, 
Turkey  places  us  under  the  necessity  of  having  recourse  to  arms. 

"Profoundly  convinced  of  the  justice  of  our  cause,  and  humbly 
committing  ourselves  to  the  grace  and  the  help  of  the  Most  High,  we 
make  known  to  our  faithful  subjects  that  the  moment  foreseen 
when  we  pronounced  words  to  which  all  Russia  responded  with  com- 
plete unanimity  has  now  arrived.  We  expressed  the  intention  to 
act  independently  when  we  deemed  it  necessary,  and  when  Russia's 
honor  should  demand  it.  In  now  invoking  the  blessing  of  God  upon 
our  valiant  armies,  we  give  them  the  order  to  cross  the  Turkish 
frontier. 

"  ALEXANDEB." 

On  the  same  day,  Prince  Gortchakoff  addressed  a  circular  to  the 
Russian  Ambassadors  at  Foreign  Courts,  in  which  he  undertook  to 
justify  the  action  of  Russia  as  a  legitimate  and  necessary  consequence 
of  the  Porte's  refusal  to  accept  the  London  protocol.  The  Russian 
Chancellor  has  long  been  admired  as  a  writer  of  diplomatic  notes, 
many  of  which  are  regarded  as  masterpieces  of  this  kind  of  literature, 
and  it  was  therefore  to  be  expected  that  the  circular  in  which  he  was 
to  explain  the  causes  of  what  every  one  thought  would  turn  out  one 
of  the  most  memorable  wars  in  the  world's  history,  would  be  worthy 
of  his  reputation.  The  consummate  ability  of  this  document  was 
indeed  admitted  on  all  sides,,  even  by  those  who  did  not  believe  in 
the  soundness  of  its  reasoning.  Like  the  Emperor's  manifesto,  it  is 
an  indispensable  part  of  any  history  of  this  war,  and  we  therefore 
give  it  here  entire.  It  is  as  follows : 

* 

"  Since  the  beginning  of  the  Eastern  crisis  the  Imperial  Cabinet 
lias  exhausted  all  the  means  in  its  power  in  order  to  bring  about,  by 
the  co-operation  of  the  Great  Powers  of  Europe,  a  lasting  peace  with 
Turkey.  All  the  proposals  successively  made  to  the  Porte  as  a  re- 
sult of  the  understanding  arrived  at  between  the  Cabinets  of  Europe, 
have  been  met  by  it  with  obstinate  resistance.  The  protocol  signed 
in  London  on  the  19th  (31st)  of  March  in  this  year  has  been  the  last 
expression  of  the  united  wishes  of  Europe.  The  Imperial  Cabinet 
had  suggested  it  as  a  last  effort  of  conciliation.  It  had  made  known 
by  a  declaration  bearing  the  same  date,  and  accompanying  the  pro- 
tocol, the  conditions  which,  if  loyally  and  sincerely  accepted,  and 
executed  by  the  Ottoman  Government,  might  bring  about  the  re-es- 


214  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

tablisliment  and  consolidation  of  peace.  The  Porte  has  just  answered 
this  declaration  by  a  new  refusal.  This  contingency  had  not  been 
foreseen  in  the  protocol  of  London.  In  formulating  the  wishes  and 
decisions  of  Europe,  the  protocol  had  confined  itself  to  a  stipulation 
that  in  case  the  Great  Powers  should  be  deceived  in  their  hope  of 
seeing  the  Porte  energetically  adopt  the  measures  destined  to  im- 
prove the  condition  of  the  Christian  populations — measures  unani- 
mously recognized  as  indispensable  to  the  tranquillity  of  Europe — 
they  reserved  to  themselves  the  right  of  consulting  together  as  to  the 
means  most  suitable  for  insuring  the  well-being  of  these  populations 
and  the  interests  of  general  peace. 

"  Thus  the  Cabinets  had  taken  thought  of  the  contingency  that 
the  Porte  should  not  fulfill  the  promises  which  it  had  made,  but  not 
that  the  Porte  should  reject  the  demands  of  Europe.  At  the  same 
time  the  declaration  made  by  Lord  Derby,  after  the  signing  of  the 
protocol,  had  established  the  fact  that  as  the  British  Government  had 
only  consented  to  sign  the  protocol  with  a  view  to  the  interests  of 
the  general  peace,  it  was  to  be  understood  at  the  outset  that,  in  case 
this  object  should  not  be  attained — especially  the  reciprocal  disarma- 
ment and  peace  between  Turkey  and  Russia — the  protocol  should  be 
considered  as  null  and  void.  The  refusal  of  the  Porte,  and  the  motives 
on  which  this  refusal  is  founded,  leave  no  ground  for  hoping  that 
she  will  now  defer  to  the  wishes  and  advice  of  Europe,  and  afford  no 
guarantee  for  the  adoption  of  reforms,  suggested  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  condition  of  the  Christian  subjects  of  the  Porte.  Peace 
with  Montenegro  is  thus  rendered  impossible,  and  it  is  impossible, 
also,  to  complete  the  conditions  which  would  bring  about  disarma- 
ment and  pacification.  In  these  circumstances,  all  prospect  of  suc- 
cessful attempts  at  conciliation  is  at  an  end.  There  remains  no  other 
alternative  than  either  to  prolong  a  state  of  things  which  the  powers 
have  declared  incompatible  with  their  interests,  and  with  those  of 
Europe  in  general,  or  to  try  and  obtain  by  force  what  the  unanimous 
attempts  of  the  Cabinets  have  failed  to  obtain  from  the  Porte  by 
persuasion.  Our  august  master  has  resolved  himself  to  undertake 
the  work,  which  His  Majesty  had  invited  the  Great  Powers  to  un- 
dertake in  common  with  him.  His  Majesty  has  therefore  ordered 
his  armies  to  cross  the  frontier  of  Turkey.  In  taking  upon  himself 
this  task,  our  august  master  fulfills  a  duty  which  is  imposed  upon  hirn 
by  the  interests  of  Russia,  whose  peaceful  development  is  seriously 
impeded  by  the  permanent  disorder  of  the  East.  His  Imperial 


THE  RUSSIAN  DECLARATION  OF  WAR. 


215 


Majesty  is  persuaded  that  in  taking  this  step  he  is  consulting  at  the 
same  time  the  views  and  the  interests  of  Europe." 

Prince  Gortchakoff  also  wrote  to  Teviik  Bey,  the  Turkish  Am- 
bassador at  St.  Petersburg,  notifying  him  of  the  assumption  of  hos- 
tilities by  Russia : 

"  The  earnest  negotiations  between  the  Imperial  Government  and 
the  Porte  for  a  desirable  pacification  of  the  East  not  having  led  to 
the  desired  accord,  His  Majesty,  my  august  master,  sees  himself 
compelled,  to  his  regret,  to  have  recourse  to  force  of  arms.  Be, 
therefore,  so  kind  as  to  inform  your  Government  that  from  to-day 
Russia  considers  herself  in  a  state  of  war  with  the  Porte." 

The  note  also  stated  that  Turkish  subjects  residing  in  Russia  had 
the  option  of  leaving  the  country  or  remaining,  and  that  in  the  latter 
case  they  would  enjoy  the  full  protection  of  the  laws.  The  Ambas- 
sador having  been  offered  passports  for  himself  and  the  members  of 
his  embassy,  took  leave  of  the  Russian  Government  in  a  courteous 
note,  and  the  rupture  of  diplomatic  relations  between  the  two 
countries  was  completed.  The  Turkish  Government  immediately 
published  a  reply  to  the  Russian  declaration  of  war.  After  review- 
ing the  part  played  by  Russia  during  the  insurrection  of  1875,  and 
,  the  war  of  1876,  the  Porte  appealed  in  this  document  to  the  media- 
tion of  the  powers  on  the  strength  of  the  eighth  article  of  the  Treaty 
of  Paris  in  the  following  terms : 

"The  Sublime  Porte  falls  back  on  Article  8  of  the  Treaty  of 
Paris,  which  is  in  these  terms :  '  Should  there  arise  between  the 
Sublime  Porte  and  one  or  more  of  the  other  Signatary  Powers  any 
misunderstanding  threatening  the  maintenance  of  their  relations,  the 
Sublime  Porte  and  each  of  the  powers,  before  having  recourse  to 
the  employment  of  force,  will  give  the  other  contracting  parties  an 
opportunity  of  preventing  this  extremity  by  their  mediatory  action.' 
Although  it  is  not  the  Ottoman  Government  which  threatens  to 

o 

take  the  initiative  of  aggression,  and  although,  consequently,  it  was 
by  rights  the  part  of  the  Russian  Government  to  appeal  to  these 
stipulations  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  this  Imperial  Government,  in 
order  to  avoid  all  misunderstanding,  applies  to  the  Signatary  Powers 
of  that  treaty  for  them  to  use  their  good  offices  in  the  grave  cir- 
cumstances in  which  it  is  placed,  by  applying  the  Article  before 
mentioned,  and  thus  putting  an  end  to  the  dangerous  tension  affe3t- 


2i6  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

ing  the  relations  of  the  two  States  by  means  cf  such  mediatory 
action  in  conformity  with  right  and  treaty.  Apart  from  all  treaty 
stipulation,  the  action  of  the  powers  would  even  be  justified  on  the 
ground  on  which,  according  to  the  declaration  of  her  Charge  d' Af- 
faires at  Constantinople,  Russia  desires  to  found  her  present  military 
action,  in  alleging  the  refusal  of  the  Porte  to  agree  to  the  proposals 
made  to  it  by  all  the  powers,  and  to  the  document  signed  by  them, 
and  by  pointing  out  that  her  conduct  thus  conforms  as  well  with 
the  provisions  of  Article  8  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris  as  with  the  motives 
for  the  rupture  assigned  by  Russia.  The  Sublime  Porte  expresses 
the  conviction  that  the  friendly  powers,  true  to  the  feeling  of  benevo- 
lent interest  which  they  have  never  ceased  to  manifest  to  the  Otto- 
man Empire,  will  seize  this  opportunity  to  arrest  the  breaking  out 
of  a  great  war,  thus  sparing  these  countries  the  painful  extremities 
with  which  they  are  threatened,  and  Europe  herself  the  trouble  and 
danger  resulting  from  a  conflict  between  two  States — a  conflict  of 
which  the  Sublime  Porte  can  justly  repudiate  the  entire  responsi- 
bility." 

Although  the  outbreak  of  a  new  Eastern  war  had  for  years  been 
regarded  as  probable,  and  during  the  last  two  weeks  as  unavoidable 
and  immediate,  a  profound  impression  was  produced  by  the  official 
declaration.  It  was  fully  and  generally  understood  that  momentous 
results  might  follow  its  issue.  Attention  was  called  by  many  lead- 
ing newspapers  of  Europe,  to  the  remarkable  silence  of  the  Imperial 
manifesto  as  to  the  suspected  intentions  of  Russia  to  annex,  if  vic- 
torious, considerable  portions  of  Turkish  territory.  But  few  persons 
were  found  in  the  countries  of  Christendom  who  expressed  a  warm 
and  unreserved  sympathy  with  the  Turks.  The  bitterest  enemies 
of  Russia  did  not  deny  that  the  Turkish  Government  had  contracted 
great  guilt  by  the  failure  to  improve  the  wretched  condition  of  its 
Christian  subjects,  and  that  the  stubborn  refusal  of  the  Porte  to  lis- 
ten to  the  advice  of  the  Great  Powers  of  Europe  was  foolhardy  and 
reckless.  The  enthusiastic  sympathy  which  the  Mohammedan  world 
expressed  with  the  hazardous  step  of  its  foremost  representative  was, 
of  course,  of  no  practical  avail,  and  was  apt  to  hurt  the  Turks  more 
than  to  benefit  them,  because  it  might  be  expected  to  produce  a 
strong  reaction  in  the  Christian  countries.  Russia  met  with  the 
wildest  applause  from  all  the  Slavic  nations  except  the  Poles,  and  if 
any  further  proof  had  been  needed  that  the  much-talked-of  Pan-Slavic 


THE  RUSSIAN  DECLARATION  OF  WAR.  2I7 

agitations  had  not  been  altogether  devoid  of  consequences,  it  was 
now  furnished  by  the  comment  of  the  Slavic  press  on  the  Eastern 
war.  In  the  Christian  countries  outside  of  the  Slavic  world,  public 
opinion  was  greatly  divided.  Strong  anti-Turkish  sentiments  were 
expressed  by  those  who  were  deeply  convinced  of  the  prime  impor- 
tance of  restoring  the  ascendency  of  the  Christian  religion  in  the 
East,  as  the  first  condition  of  its  political  and  social  regeneration ; 
by  those  who  believed  in  a  special  mission  of  the  Eastern  Church, 
for  aiding  in  the  reunion  of  the  Christian  Church ;  by  those 
who  had  been  waiting  upon  the  fall  of  the  Ottoman  Empire 
as  a  fulfillment  of  Biblical  prophecy ;  by  many  liberals,  especially  in 
England,  who  believed,  with  Mr.  Gladstone,  that  the  Turks  were 
irremediably  cruel  and  oppressive,  and  that  England  ought  not  to 
hold  out  to  them  any  hope  of  material  or  moral  aid ;  by  radicals,  like 
Garibaldi,  who  demanded  the  expulsion  of  the  Turks  to  make  room 
for  the  introduction  of  self-government.  Strong  anti-Russian  senti- 
ments, on  the  other  hand,  were  uttered  by  those  who,  in  the  rapid 
aggrandizement  of  Russia,  saw  a  danger  for  its  more  highly  cultiva- 
ted neighbors,  and  for  all  Europe.  Ah1  parties,  however,  agreed  in 
picturing  in  the  most  sombre  colors  the  horrors  which  the  world 
must  be  prepared  to  witness  in  the  coming  war. 

The  obstinate  refusal  by  the  Porte  of  all  the  demands  of  the  Con- 
stantinople conference  and  the  London  protocol  had  been  partly 
inspired  by  the  firm  belief  of  the  Turkish  statesmen,  that  if  war 
was  once  declared  between  Russia  and  Turkey,  England  would  be 
forced  by  her  own  interest  to  take  part  in  it  on  the  side  of  Turkey. 
This  hope  was  not  fulfilled.  In  the  answer  to  the  Russian  note 
which  was  on  July  1st  addressed  to  Lord  Loftus,  the  British  Ambas- 
sador in  St.  Petersburg,  Earl  Derby,  the  British  Secretary  of  State 
for  Foreign  Affairs,  strongly  disapproved  the  action  of  Russia,  and 
especially  entered  a  solemn  protest  against  the  assumption  that  it 
was  acting  with  the  concurrence  of  Europe,  and  in  the  interest  of 
other  powers,  but  he  confined  himself  to  this  declaration  and  abstained 
from  any  intimation  of  an  active  participation  in  the  war,  at  pres- 
ent or  in  future.  In  the  violent  debates  which  the  declaration 
of  war  called  forth  in  the  English  Parliament,  the  ministers  qualified 
their  policy  as  one  of  neutrality,  and  even  deemed  it  expedient  to 
defend  themselves  from  the  imputation  of  being  indifferent  to  the 
ill-treatment  of  the  Christians  in  Turkey.  The  other  Governments 


2i8  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

of  Europe,  as  well  as  that  of  the  United  States,  promptly  issued  offi- 
cial declarations  of  neutrality. 

In  Russia,  the  events  of  1875  and  1876  had  produced  great  ex- 
citement. This  was  aided  and  increased  by  Pan-Slavic  agents 
throughout  the  Empire.  It  was  well-known  that  Pan-Slavic  com- 
mittees had  collected  moneys  and  provisions  in  Russia  for  the  Ser- 
vian cause,  while  large  numbers  of  Russians  had  entered  the  service 
under  General  Tchernayeff.  In  the  middle  of  November,  1876,  the 
Czar  had  ordered  the  mobilization  of  the  greater  part  of  the  Euro- 
pean army,  as  well  as  of  the  entire  army  of  the  Caucasus,  and,  con- 
sequently, two  large  armies  were  concentrated  by  Russia  on  its  Turk- 
ish borders. 

The  army  of  the  South,  or  of  the  Pruth,  was  placed  under  the 
command  of  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas,  a  brother  of  the  Emperor, 
with  its  headquarters  at  Kishenev,  and  was  concentrated  on  both 
banks  of  the  Lower  Dniester,  and  between  this  river  and  the  Pruth. 
General  Nepokoitchitzky  was  appointed  chief  of  the  staff,  which  was 
very  numerous,  and  was  increased  by  the  addition  of  a  fully-equip- 
ped bureau  for  the  administration  of  the  Slavic  provinces  south  of 
the  Danube,  which  were  to  be  captured.  The  powers,  military  and 
political,  of  the  Commander-in-chief  were  very  great,  and  in  order 
to  make  him  as  much  as  possible  independent  of  interference  from 
St.  Petersburg,  he  was  authorized  to  decide  for  himself  as  to  the 
strategical  movements  to  be  executed  ;  to  appoint  governors  for  the 
provinces  which  should  be  occupied ;  to  make  promotions  in  the 
army  up  to  the  grade  of  lieutenant-general,  and  to  grant  certain 
decorations.  This  army  was  composed  of  four  corps : — the  eighth, 
under  Lieutenant-Gen eral  Radetzky ;  the  ninth,  under  Lieutenant- 
General  Baron  Kriidener ;  the  eleventh,  under  Lieutenant-General 
Prince  Shachovsky ;  and  the  twelfth,  under  Lieutenant-General  Van- 
novsky,  and  included  eight  divisions  of  infantry,  of  two  brigades, 
or  four  regiments  each  ;  four  divisions  of  cavalry,  each  consisting 
of  four  regiments  and  a  brigade  of  mounted  artillery ;  and  eight 
brigades  of  field  artillery. 

Besides  this  force,  a  second  army  was  formed  for  the  defense  of 
the  coasts  of  the  Black  Sea,  and  was  placed  under  the  special  com- 
mand of  Lieutenant-General  Semeka,  with  its  headquarters  at 
Odessa.  It  was  composed  of  two  corps : — the  seventh,  under  Lieu- 
tenant-General Ganyetzky  II.,  and  the  tenth  corps  under  Lieutenant- 


GRAND    DUKE    NICHOLAS. 


EVENING    PRAYER   IN    A    CANTONMENT   OF    RUSSIAN    SOLDIERS 
AT    KISHINEV. 


THE  RUSSIAN  DECLARATION  OF  WAR.  221 

General  Prince  Voronsoff.     The  strength  of  the  two  armies  in  men, 
horses,  and  guns,  was : 

Men.  Horses.  Guru. 

Army  of  operation  (four  corps),     .    .     .    144,000  32,800  433 

Second  army  (two  corps), 72,000  16,400  216 

216,000  49,200  648 

The  following  additional  troops  were  also  available :'  the  third  and 
fourth  brigades  of  chasseurs,  under  Major-General  Dobrovalsky,  and 
Major-General  Zviazinsky,  respectively ;  the  Bulgarian  militia,  Ma- 
jor-General Stolyetoff,  composed  of  Bulgarian  refugees  in  Rumania ; 
the  combined  Cossack  division,  Lieutenant-General  Skobeleff ;  nine 
Cossack  regiments  of  the  second  class ;  the  Don-Cossack  batteries, 
No.  8-11,  and  .No.  15 ;  two  mountain  batteries  of  8  guns  each  ;  the 
third  brigade  of  sappers ;  the  third  and  fourth  battalions  of  pon- 
tooners;  a  park  of  siege  artillery,  consisting  of  400  guns;  two 
companies  of  marines  with  24:  torpedo-boats  in  parts  all  ready  to  be 
put  together ;  two  squadrons  of  field  gendarmes ;  fourteen  trans- 
port divisions  of  350  wagons  each ;  a  reserve  depot  of  12,000  horses ; 
and  the  .escort  of  the  Grand  Duke  commanding,  consisting  of  the 
first  sotnie  of  Guard  Cossacks  of  Terek ;  the  first  sotnie  of  Guard 
Cossacks  of  Kuban,  and  two  companies  of  Plastuni  (Kuban  Cos- 
sacks on  foot). 

Forty-eight  hours  before  the  declaration  of  war,  small  Russian  de- 
tachments had  crossed  the  Pruth  and  occupied  several  important 
positions  in  Rumania,  including  the  railroad  station  at  Jassy,  and 
the  railroad  bridge  over  the  Sereth  at  Barboschi.  It  was  all  the 
more  important  to  secure  this  bridge  and  protect  it  by  batteries,  as 
it  was  to  be  supposed  that  the  enemy  would  make  every  effort  to 
destroy  it.  Its  importance  lay  in  the  fact  that  it  was  the  sole  means 
of  communication  by  railroad,  between  the  two  sides  of  the  river, 
over  which  the  greater  part  of  the  army  of  operation  had  to  be 
brought  in  order  to  assume  the  offensive  along  the  whole  line  of  the 
Danube.  The  Turks,  however,  made  no  attempt  to  destroy  the 
railroads  of  Rumania,  not  even  the  Barboschi  bridge.  It  was  sup- 
posed that  their  policy  on  this  point  was  governed  by  a  desire  to 
give  to  Rumania  no  pretext  for  forming  an  alliance  with  Russia* 

Immediately  upon  the  declaration  of  war  the  Russian  troops  be- 
gan to  cross  the  Pruth  in  two  wings  or  columns.  The  left  .wing  was- 
composed  of  the  eleventh  and  seventh  corps.  The  llth  corps  had 
been  stationed  shortly  before  the  outbreak  of  the  war  at  Kubai,  in 


222  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

the  extreme  south-western  corner  of  Bessarabia.  Beginning  its 
march  on  April  24rth  it  reached  Galatz  and  Braila  on  May  4th.  The 
advanced  guard  of  these  corps  had  been  in  these  towns  as  early  as 
April  25th.  Reni  was  also  occupied.  The  7th  corps  marched  from 
Tatar  Bunar  on  Kilia  and  Ismail,  the  last  troops  reaching  these 
places  on  May  5th.  The  right  wing,  which  was  composed  of  the  8th, 
9th,  and  12th  corps,  and  to  which  the  headquarters  of  the  Grand 
Duke  Nicholas  had  been  attached,  inarched  on  the  line  Kishenev, 
Byrlat,  Tekutch,  Buseo,  Bucharest.  The  headquarters  were  located 
on  May  6th  at  Jassy,  and  on  May  15th  at  Ployeshti. 

Rumania  had  remained  neutral  during  the  wars  of  1875  and  1876, 
and  had  attracted  but  little  attention  from  the  outside  world.  But  as 
the  probability  of  a  Russo-Turkish  war  increased,  and  Russia  began  to 
mass  her  forces  on  the  Rumanian  border,  its  position  became  a  very 
doubtful  one,  lying  as  it  did  directly  between  the  two  belligerent  pow- 
ers. The  progress  of  events  forced  it  to  take  sides  with  one  party  or 
the  other,  and  on  April  16, 1877,  Prince  Charles  concluded  a  conven- 
tion with  Russia,  in  which  he  assured  to  the  Russians  a  free  passage, 
and  the  treatment  due  a  friendly  army.  The  Czar,  on  the  other  hand, 
bound  himself  to  respect  the  rights  of  Rumania.  According  to  an 
additional  convention,  the  Russians  were  allowed  to  use  Rumanian 
roads,  railways,  rivers,  and  telegraphs.  The  resources  of  the  coun- 
try were  placed  at  their  disposal  for  the  supply  of  the  army.  The 
Rumanian  authorities  were  to  assist  in  erecting  camps  and  forward- 
ing baggage.  Russian  military  trains  and  telegrams  were  to  have 
the  precedence  of  ordinary  traffic.  The  Russians  were  empowered 
to  complete  unfinished  railroads,  and  the  necessary  ground  for  this 
purpose  was  to  be  ceded  to  them.  The  chief  of  the  Russian  Mili- 
tary Traffic  Department  was  empowered,  subject  to  the  approval  of 
the  Rumanian  Minister  of  Works,  to  dismiss  Rumanian  railway  offi- 
cials. The  Russians  were  allowed  to  establish  military  stations  and 
hospitals  anywhere  except  in  Bucharest.  Rumania  would,  if  re- 
quired, provide  material  for  the  construction  of  boats,  ships,  and 
bridges.  Articles  intended  for  the  Russian  army  would  be  admitted 
into  Rumania,  duty  free.  The  Rumanian  authorities  would  assist  in 
capturing  Russian  deserters.  All  the  expenses  incurred  through  the 
passage  of  the  Russians  were  to  be  paid  in  cash  within  two  months. 
An  explanatory  report  annexed  to  the  convention  said  Russia  was 
obliged  to  intervene  in  Turkey  because  Mussulman  fanaticism  and 
the  weakness  of  the  Turkish  Government  allowed  no  hope  of  reform, 


THE  RUSSIAN  DECLARATION  OF  WAR.  223 

and  as  Russia  desired  to  respect  the  inviolability  of  Rumania,  the 
present  convention  was  concluded. 

When  the  existence  of  this  convention  became  known,  in  the  latter 
part  of  April,  the  Turkish  Government  informed  the  Rumanian 
agent  at  Constantinople,  that  in  view  of  the  above  convention,  and 
the  entrance  of  Russian  troops  into  Rumanian  territory,  the  Forte 
no  longer  regarded  the  Prince  and  the  Rumanian  authorities  as  free 
agents,  but  considered  that  they  were  in  the  power  of  the  enemy, 
and  could  therefore  hold  no  more  official  communication  with  them. 
Rumanian  subjects  in  Turkey  were  at  the  same  time  placed  under 
the  direct  jurisdiction  of  the  Turkish  authorities.  In  consequence 
of  this  action  the  Rumanian  agent  retired  from  Constantinople.  The 
Porte  also  addressed  a  note  respecting  the  attitude  of  Rumania  to 
the  powers,  in  which  it  accused  Prince  Charles  of  having  ^betrayed 
the  interests  of  his  country,  and  the  confidence  of  his  suzerain,  be- 
sides disappointing  the  hopes  cherished  by  Europe  when  it  estab- 
lished the  united  principalities." 

Such  faithlessness  could  not,  according  to  the  note,  be  too  strongly 
condemned.  On  May  21st  an  order  of  the  day  was  unanimously 
adopted  in  both  the  Rumanian  Chambers,  declaring  the  independ- 
ence of  the  principality,  and  recognizing  the  existence  of  a  state  of 
war  between  Rumania  and  Turkey.  Prime  Minister  Cogalniceano 
addressed  a  note  to  the  powers  on  the  3d  of  June,  notifying  them  of 
the  new  attitude  of  the  country.  The  Turkish  Government,  in  a 
note  of  June  5,  protested  against  the  Rumanian  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence, and  asserted  that  "  it  intended  to  preserve  its  rights  with- 
out regard  to  the  actions  or  the  words  of  the  rebellious  Government 
of  Moldavia-~Wallachia,  and  it  reserved  for  itself  the  right  to  use  such 
measures  against  the  principalities  as  seemed  proper  in  its  estimation." 
The  strength  of  the  Rumanian  army  was  variously  estimated.  The 
most  probable  estimate  was  that  which  placed  it  at  38,000  infantry, 
8,200  cavalry,  and  120  field  guns.  On  May  10th  Prince  Charles  pub- 
lished a  decree,  assuming  the  chief  command  of  his  troops,  and  ap- 
pointing as  his  chief  of  staff,  General  Slaniceano;  as  commander  of 
the  first  corps,  Gen.  Lupu ;  and  of  the  second  corps,  Gen.  Radovici. 

Early  in  May  three  more  corps  were  added  to  the  Russian  army 
of  operation,  viz.:  the  fourth  corps,  from  Minsk,  under  the  command 
of  Lieutenant-General  Zotoff ;  the  thirteenth  corps,  from  Shitomir, 
under  Lieutenant-General  Hahn;  and  the  fourteenth  corps,  from 
Kiev,  under  Lieutenant-General  Zimmerman.  Besides  these  troops, 


224  THE   WAR  IN  THE 

there  were  a  large  number  of  separate  regiments  of  Cossacks,  pio- 
neers, engineers,  and  others ;  and  the  marine  equipage  included  twen- 
ty-four small  screw-steamers,  which  were  taken  along  in  parts  and 
put  together  on  the  Danube.  Taken  all  in  all,  the  army  of  the 
Danube  was  composed  as  follows : 

Men.  Cannon. 

16  Infantry  Divisions 254,784  768 

2  Brigades  of  Sharpshooters  7,632 

9*  Cavalry  Divisions 38,711  114 

7  Separate  Regiments  of  Don  Cossacks 4,900 

6  Separate  Batteries  of  Don  Cossacks ?  36 

Total 305,0^7  918 

The  engineers,  the  marine  detachments,  the  siege  artillery,  and 
various  other  detachments  were  not  included  in  these  numbers. 
Counting  them  at  20,000  men,  we  would  have  a  total  of  325,000 
men.  Allowing  75,000  men  for  the  sick  and  wounded,  there  would 
still  remain  250,000  men,  with  170,000  rifles,  23,000  sabres,  and  918 
cannon.  This  army  was  increased  by  the  Rumanian  and  Bulgarian 
contingents  to  200,000  rifles,  27,000  sabres,  and  1,038  field-guns. 

The  valley  of  the  Danube,  which  had  again  become  the  seat  of 
war  between  Russia  and  Turkey,  has  been  the  scene  of  many  bat- 
tles. The  Emperor  Trajan  for  several  years  carried  on  war  against 
the  Dacians,  who  lived  between  the  Theiss,  the  Pruth,  and  the 
Danube,  occupying  the  territory  of  the  present  Rumania  and 
Transylvania.  In  the  year  103  he  conquered  the  Dacians  com- 
pletely, and  made  their  country  a  Roman  province.  He  did  not, 
however,  take  possession  of  what  is  now  called  the  Dobruclja, 
recognizing  its  poverty  and  sterility  as  well  as  its  uselessness  in  a 
strategical  point  of  view.  But  in  order  to  protect  the  rich  and 
fertile  country  south  of  the  Danube  against  invasions,  he  erected  a 
triple  wall  of  earth  at  the  point  where  the  solid  ground  between 
the  Danube  and  the  Black  Sea  was  narrowest.  Since  that  time  the 
Danube  has  been  the  scene  of  many  wars  between  the  different 
nations  living  upon  it.  In  the  war  of  1854  Trajan's  wall  played  a 
very  important  part.  The  Turks,  in  the  beginning  of  the  war, 
abandoned  the  Dobrudja,  but  hiade  a  halt  at  the  wall,  where  they 
inflicted  two  severe  defeats  on  the  Russians  on  April  10th  at  Kostelli, 
and  on  April  22d  at  Tchernavoda. 

The  river  Danube  forms  the  northern  boundary  of  Turkey  proper 
from  the  Iron  Gate,  in  the  Carpathian  Mountains,  to  its  mouths  at 
the  Black  Sea,  a  distance  of  584  miles  measured  along  the  navigable 


THE  RUSSIAN  DECLARATION  OF  WAR.         .       225 

channel.  The  river,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  presented  a  for- 
midable defense  for  Turkey.  General  McClellan,  in  the  North 
American  Review,  speaking  of  it,  says :  "  Below  the  Iron  Gate  the 
Danube,  except  when  divided  by  islands  into  several  arms,  is  no- 
where less  than  nine  hundred  paces  in  width,  often  more  than 
double  that.  In  places  it  is  from  seventy  to  eighty  feet  deep,  often 
shallower,  but  always  a  deep  river,  nowhere  fordable.  There  is 
only  one  place,  at  Tultcha,  where  a  sandbar  reduces  its  depth  so 
much  as  to  render  a  pile  bridge  practicable;  at  all  other  points 
bridges  must  be  supported  upon  boats.  The  current  averages  about 
two  and  one-half  miles  per  hour.  As  a  rule  the  right,  or  Turkish 
bank  commands  the  left  bank,  which  is  often  marshy  to  the  water's 
edge.  The  points  suitable  for  crossing  large  bodies  of  troops  are 
few,  and  are  generally  covered  by  fortifications  on  the  Turkish 
bank." 

Turkey,  besides  completely  commanding  the  Black  Sea  with  her 
navy,  had  a  fleet  of  seventeen  gun-boats  on  the  Danube.  The 
smaller  boats  were  lightly  armored,  so  as  to  resist  the  shot  from 
lield  cannon,  but  the  larger  vessels  were  strongly  plated  to  resist 
the  heavy  fortification  guns  which  the  Russians  transported  by  their 
long  land  route,  the  only  one  open  to  them.  Besides  this  fleet,  the 
Turks  had  three  monitors  with  movable  turrets.  Along  the  Turk- 
ish shore  there  was  a  line  of  strong  fortresses,  which  in  1828  and 
1853  had  resisted  the  attacks  of  the  Russians,  and  between  them 
was  a  chain  of  smaller  forts,  capable  of  holding  back,  for  a  short 
time,  any  force  which  the  enemy  could  throw  across  the  river. 

The  fortresses  on  this  line  were  indicated  as  follows,  commencing 
at  the  west :  Ada-Kale,  on  a  rocky  island  of  about  eight  hundred 
acres,  situated  in  the  middle  of  the  river,  where  the  channel  is 
bounded  on  each  side  by  nearly  perpendicular  rocks  two  thousand 
feet  high,  and  utterly  inaccessible  to  an  enemy  with  even  the 
smallest  cannon.  This  fortress  is  above  the  cataract  of  the  Iron 
Gate,  and  is  so  placed  as  to  be  able  to  prevent  the  passage  of  any 
gun-boat  down  the  river,  or  of  any  land  force  along  the  only  road — 
the  "  Trajan  Way  " — which  is  an  admirably  built  modern  Macadam 
road,  over  the  same  ground  upon  which  the  Roman  Emperor  built 
a  military  road  in  A.D.  T8.  The  next  fortress  is  Widin,  one  hun- 
dred miles  below  Ada-Kale,  on  the  right  bank,  opposite  Kalafat,  a 
Rumanian  fortress. 

Widin,  which  is  one  of  the  most  important  posts  on  the  river,  is 


226  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

built  on  hills,  and  has  a  population  of  about  thirty  thousand. 
It  was  very  strongly  fortified  with  works  containing  from  two  hun- 
dred to  three  hundred  cannon.  Kalafat,  immediately  opposite,  was 
also  strongly  fortified,  as  were  besides  two  high  hills  beyond  the 
town.  The  Turks  certainly  missed  a  grand  opportunity  in  not 
occupying  Kalafat  and  the  hills  surrounding  it,  and  using  it  as  a 
bridge-head.  This  could  have  been  done  the  more  easily  as  the 
Rumanian  troops  had  retired  from  it  on  the  26th  of  April, -and 
from  that  date  up  to  May  4th,  when  they  again  entered  it,  it  remained 
entirely  unprotected.  The  fortresses  next  in  order  are  Lorn,  Ra- 
hova,  Nicopolis,  and  Sistova,  dividing  about  equally  the  distance 
between  Widin  and  Rustchuk.  Rustchuk  is,  like  Widin,  one  of 
the  strongest  points  on  the  river,  and  formed,  with  Silistria,  Varna, 
and  Shumla,  what  was  known  as  the  celebrated  Turkish  quad- 
rilateral. It  has  been  the  scene  of  numerous  sieges,  and  has  been 
destroyed  and  rebuilt  several  times.  The  town  of  Giurgevo,  op- 
posite to  it,  was  built  in  the  early  part  of  the  present  century,  as  a 
bridge-head  for  Rustchuk.  A  correspondent  of  the  London  News, 
who  passed  down  the  river  on  April  25th,  wrote,  that  for  a  distance 
of  three  miles  along  the  margin  of  the  stream — from  far  above  the 
town  to  the  bluff  far  below  it — the  bank  was  thickly  studded  with 
earthwork  batteries,  some  looking  due  across  the  river,  some  facing 
up-stream,  others  fronting  down-stream,  so  that  the  cannon  mounted 
behind  the  massive  parapets  could  sweep  with  front  and  flanking 
fire  the  whole  broad  bosom  of  the  Danube  so  thoroughly  that  a  row- 
boat  could  not  run  the  gauntlet  of  their  iron  hail-storm.  But  the 
brink  of  the  river  was  not  the  only  locality  that  was  thus  protected. 
Behind  the  low  bluff  along  the  bank  an  undulating  plateau,  about 
two  miles  broad,  extended  backward  to  a  continuous  rising  ground 
having  a  series  of  knolls  upon  its  surface.  On  each  of  these  knolls 
was  an  intrenched  work.  So  far  as  the  correspondent  could  see 
with  his  glass  from  the  river,  the  ridge  above  was  "a  great  in- 
trenched camp,  with  an  elaborate  earthwork  redoubt  on  each  flank, 
and  another  in  the  center."  The  fortifications  thus  consisted  of 
three  lines,  all  of  which  "are  extremely  formidable."  The  next 
fort  is  Turtukai,  half  way  between  Rustchuk  and  Silistria. 

Silistria,  the  second  fortress  of  the  quadrilateral,  is  one  of  the 
strongest  fortified  towns  in  the  East.  It  is  a  very  ancient  city,  and 
in  the  vicinity  are  the  remains  of  fortifications  which  were  erected  dur- 
ing the  Byzantine  Empire.  In  971  the  Emperor  routed  the  Russians 


THE  RUSSIAN  DECLARATION  OF  WAR. 


227 


under  Sviatoslav.  In  1773  it  was  again  besieged  by  the  Eussians, 
and  still  again  in  1779,  when  they  suffered  severe  losses.  In  1810  it 
capitulated — the  first  and  only  time  but  one  in  history.  -In  1828 
another  siege  was  laid  and  continued  several  months,  the  Russians 
at  last  retiring.  In  1829,  however,  it  was  reduced,  and  held  as  a 
pledge  for  the  payment  of  an  indemnity  by  the  Porte.  When  new 
troubles  with  Russia  were  apparent  in  184:9-'50,  the  fortifications 
were  greatly  strengthened  by  the  addition  of  twelve  detached  forts, 
of  which,  the  one  on  the  hill  commanding  the  town,  is  said  to  be  one 
of  the  best  military  works  of  the  time.  In  April,  1854,  it  was  invested 
by  an  army  of  50,000  Russians,  which  was  afterward  increased  to 
70,000,  and  a  siege  begun  which-  continued  until  near  the  1st  of 
July.  A  bombardment  was  kept  up  for  three  weeks,  midnight  at- 
tacks were  made,  30,000  men  attempted  to  gain  the  town,  but  all 
without  success.  The  Russians  retired  and  retreated  across  the  river. 
It  is  recorded  that  50,000  shot  and  shell  were  thrown  upon  the  town, 
while  the  Russians  lost  12,000  men  and  had  20,000  laid  up  in  hos- 
pitals. Below  Silistria  are  Tchernavoda,  Hirsova,  Matchin,  Isaktcha, 
and  Tultcha.  On  the  Rumanian  side  are  Braila,  Galatz,  Reni,  and 
Ismail.  Of  these  forts,  Braila,  Matchin,  and  Tultcha  are  especially 
important,  as  they  command  the  Dobrudja.  Another  place  of  im- 
portance to  the  Dobrudja  is  the  small  port  of  Kustendji  on  the  Black 
Sea. 

The  second  line  of  the  Turkish  defense  was  the  Balkan  range  of 
mountains,  which  rises  to  a  height  varying  from  5,000  feet  in  the  west 
to  2,000  feet  in  the  eastern  extremity.  The  distance  from  the  Danube 
to  the  top  of  the  Balkans  is  about  fifty  or  sixty  miles,  across  a  rough 
and  broken  country.  The  declivities  of  the  mountains  themselves 
are  covered  with  forests.  The  climate  is  very  cold  and  bleak.  The 
best  pass  through  the  mountains  is  from  Tirnova  to  Slivno.  Besides 
the  few  passes  known  to  and  defended  by  the  Turks,  there  are  quite 
a  number  of  secret  passes  known  to  the  Bulgarians  only.  The  most 
important  fortresses  at  the  northern  base  of  the  Balkans  are  Shurnla 
and  Yarna,  the  former  considered  one  of  the  strongest  points  in  Tur- 
key, at  which  a  number  of  roads  converge.  Varna  is  a  port  on  the; 
Black  Sea,  also  strongly  fortified,  and  connected  by  railroad  with: 
Rustchuk.  Beyond  the  Balkan  range  the  country  slopes  gradually 
down  to  the  Sea  of  Marmora.  A  railroad  connects  Adrianople  with 
Constantinople,  a  distance  of  seventy  miles.  The  land  approaches  to 
Constantinople  are  protected  by  a  range  of  steep  hills,  extending  from 


228  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Kara  Bournu  on  the  Black  Sea,  to  Silivri  on  the  Sea  of  Marmora. 
Here  it  was  that  Attila  was  stopped  and  hurled  back  in  his  victori- 
ous career. 

Very  little  was  known  of  the  strength  and  the  disposition  of  the 
Turkish  forces  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  as  nothing  like  an  ordre 
de  ~bataille  exists  in  the  Turkish  army.  According  to  all  reports, 
however,  the  army  of  the  Danube,  inclusive  of  the  garrisons,  and  ex- 
clusive of  the  troops  stationed  at  Nissa,  did  not  exceed  200,000  men. 
From  this  number  the  troops  assigned  to  garrisons  should  be  deducted : 
for  Widin  15,000  men,  for  Rustchuk  and  Silistria  each  12,000  men, 
for  Varna  15,000  men,  for  Shurnla  20,000  men,  and  for  the  other 
smaller  fortresses  30,000  men,  making  together  104,000,  which  would 
leave  for  the  army  of  operation  hardly  more  than  90,000  or  100,000 
men.  Included  in  this  number  were  20,000  irregular  troops.  In 
May,  the  Sultan  ordered  a  draft  of  200,000  men,  in  which,  for  the 
first  time,  the  Christians  and  the  inhabitants  of  Constantinople  were 
to  be  included.  Large  concentrations  of  troops  had  taken  place  only 
around  Widin,  Rustchuk,  and  Shumla,  while  a  corps  of  20,000  men 
was  said  to  have  been  stationed  in  the  Dobrudja.  At  the  outbreak 
of  the  war  considerable  movements  of  troops  took  place  from  Widin 
and  the  Dobrudja,  toward  the  center,  in  the  direction  of  Rustchuk  and 
Silistria,  while  at  the  same  time  the  reserves,  which  had  been  sta- 
tioned at  Adrianople  and  Sophia,  as  well  as  a  part  of  those  at  Con- 
stantinople, were  moved  across  the  Balkans.  After  these  move- 
ments of  troops  had  been  completed  the  strength  of  the  forces  sta- 
tioned at  Shumla  and  forward  of  it,  on  the  line  of  Rustchuk,  Silistria, 
and  Sistova,  was  estimated  at  about  128  battalions,  600  men  each, 
20  squadrons  and  116  field-guns,  inclusive  of  the  garrisons  of  the 
fortresses  of  the  Danube.  The  Dobrudja  corps,  inclusive  of  the  gar- 
rison of  Varna,  was  estimated  at  the  highest  at  39  battalions,  8  squad- 
rons, and  42  guns,  while  the  troops  concentrated  around  Widin  were 
estimated  at  60  battalions,  16  squadrons,  and  150  guns,  making  in  all 
227"  battalions,  44  squadrons,  and  338  field-guns.  The  Preussische 
Militdr  Wochenblatt  (Military  Weekly),  in  its  issue  of  May  23d,  gave 
the  same  numbers,  estimating  the  strength  of  battalions  as  varying  be- 
tween 300  and  1,000  men,  and  that  of  squadrons  at  150.  It  summed 
up  the  entire  force,  inclusive  of  garrisons,  at  159,000  infantry,  6,600 
cavalry,  and  338  guns.  To  this  must  be  added  about  20,000  Circas- 
sians and  an  unknown  number  of  irregulars.  The  regular  infantry 
were  all  armed  with  breech-loaders,  and  the  artillery  consisted  of 


around? 

PL  EVNA . 

"7  Ojniaii  PtM/ta. , 


THE  RUSSIAN  DECLARATION  OF  WAR.  231 

Krupp  cannon,  the  most  of  which  were  said  to  have  been  paid  for 
by  Abdul  Hamid  from  his  private  purse.  The  commander  of  the 
entire  Turkish  forces  in  Europe  was  Abdul  Kerim  Pasha,  and  the 
chief  of  his  general  staff,  the  Ferik  Aziz  Pasha.  The  commander  of 
the  army  of  the  Danube  was  the  Mushir  Achmet  Eyub  Pasha ;  in 
the  Dobrudja,  Ali  Pasha ;  in  Yarna,  Blum  Pasha ;  in  Rustchuk, 
Tahir  Pasha ;  in  Silistria,  the  Ferik  Selaini ;  and  in  Widin,  the 
Mushir  Osman  Pasha. 

Besides  the  above,  the  Russian  Tnvalide  and  the  Preussiche  Mili- 
tar  Wochenblatt  estimated  that  the  following  troops  were  in  Euro- 
pean Turkey  in  the  middle  of  May :  6  battalions,  4  squadrons,  12 
guns  around  Nissa,  as  a  corps  of  observation  against  the  mobilized 
Servian  army ;  Mushir  Zamik  Pasha  with  36  battalions,  20  squadrons, 
and  42  guns,  as  a  general  reserve  in  Constantinople,  of  which,  how- 
ever, a  considerable  number  were  sent  to  the  coast  of  Caucasia ; 
Mushir  Suleiman  Pasha  with  37  battalions  and  54  field  and  moun- 
tain cannon  in  Herzegovina,  with  his  headquarters  in  Trebigne; 
Veli  Pasha  with  26  battalions,  1  squadron,  and  36  guns,  together, 
18,000  men,  in  Bosnia,  with  his  headquarters  at  Serayevo ;  Ali  Saib 
with  25  battalions  and  42  field  and  mountain  guns,  18,000  men,  in 
Albania  against  Montenegro  and  the  Miridites,  with  his  headquarters 
at  Scutari ;  Achmet  Pasha  with  25  battalions,  4  squadrons,  30  guns, 
on  the  boundary  of  Greece;  Mehemet  Ali  with  14  battalions,  2 
squadrons,  and  18  guns,  in  Rascia,  between  the  southern  boundary 
of  Servia  and  the  eastern  boundary  of  Montenegro ;  16  battalions 
and  18  guns  on  the  islands  of  the  JEgean  Sea,  principally  in  Crete, 
where  the  Mushir  Rauf  was  in  command.  The  army  in  Europe  then 
numbered  in  all  about  412  very  unequal  battalions  and  75  squadrons, 
making  together  290,000  men  and  12,000  horses,  and  590  field  and 
mountain  guns,  with  a  few  field  and  mountain  batteries.  Of  the 
irregular  troops,  only  12,000  Arnauts  in  Rascia  and  Albania,  and 
20,000  Circassians  with  the  army  of  the  Danube,  could  be  counted 
on  as  reliable. 

As  soon  as  the  Russians  had  secured  the  shores  of  the  Danube 
from  Kilia  to  Braila,  they  began  to  erect  shore  batteries  and  earth- 
works along  the  whole  line,  those  at  Barboschi,  Braila,  and  Galatz 
being  armed  with  heavy  guns  brought  for  this  purpose  from  Kish 
enev.  At  the  same  time  torpedoes  were  placed  by  the  Russians 
opposite  Reni,  in  order  completely  to  blockade  the  passage  of  the 
stream  at  this  bend.  On  May  3d,  two  monitors,  stationed  at  Matchin, 


232 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


began  to  bombard  the  Russian  positions  at  Braila.  The  firing  contin- 
ued on  the  5th  and  6th,  and  was  answered  by  the  Russians  at  iirst 
with  their  field  artillery,  and  as  their  heavy  siege  guns  began  to 
arrive,  with  them  also.  The  Turks  afterward  also  bombarded 
Galatz,  but  with  little  effect.  On  May  llth  a  Russian  battery 
above  Braila  had  the  good  fortune  to  blow  up  the  "  Luf ti  DjelH,"  a 
Turkish  monitor,  which  ha4  two  turrets,  and  was  one  of  the  largest 
on  the  river.  It  was  destroyed  by  a  shell  from  a  Russian  mortar 
going  down  the  funnel  into  the  engine-room,  exploding  and  com- 
municating the  destruction  to  the  powder  magazine.  The  loss  of 
the  Turks  was  150  men,  the  entire  crew,  and  5  guns. 

Artillery  duels  took  place  also  at  various  other  points,  particularly 
between  Reni  and  Isaktcha,  without,  however,  doing  any  serious 
damage  to  either  side. 

The  Turks  began  to  bombard  several  Rumanian  towns  from  their 
positions  opposite.  Thus,  on  May  8th,  Kalafat  was  bombarded  from 
Widin,  Oltenitza  from  Turtukai,  and  on  the  same  day  a  Rumanian 
coast  guard  at  Giurgevo  was  attacked  by  a  Turkish  monitor.  A 
party  of  Bashi-Bazouks  landed  at  Piketi,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Shyl,  and  burned  several  Rumanian  merchantmen,  but  were  driven 
back  by  Rumanian  cavalry. 

The  Rumanian  troops,  in  consequence  of  the  undecided  position 
of  the  Government,  were,  on  the  first  day  of  the  war,  withdrawn 
from  Kalafat  and  Giurgevo,  but  early  in  May  they  again  took  pos- 
session of  these  places,  so  that  on  the  8th  they  were  able  to  answer 
the  Turkish  fire  from  Widin  and  other  points. 

A  greater  activity  became  perceptible  in  the  movements  of  the 
Russian  troops  on  the  Rumanian  railroads  after  the  10th  of  May. 
On  the  14rth,  the  headquarters  of  the  commander-in-chief  were  re- 
moved from  Jassy  to  Ployeshti,  where  the  Grand  Duke  was  re- 
ceived by  Prince  Charles  of  Rumania.  A  report  which  had 
been  in  circulation  of  the  formation  of  a  Bulgarian  legion,  three 
thousand  strong,  in  Bessarabia,  and  its  march  to  join  the  Imperial 
forces,  received  apparent  confirmation  from  the  appearance  of  a  Bul- 
garian company  of  honor  drawn  up  at  the  railroad  station  during  the 
ceremonies  of  reception.  On  the  15th,  the  Grand  Duke  visited  the 
Prince,  and  held  a  conference  with  him  at  Bucharest. 

A  daring  feat  against  the  Turkish  iron-clads  was  performed  on  the 
25th  of  May.  The  situation  of  the  largest  of  the  Turkish  monitors 
having  been  ascertained,  a  party  of  Russians  under  the  command  of 


THE  RUSSIAN  DECLARATION  OF  WAR.  233 

Lieut.  Dubashoff,  and  accompanied  by  a  Rumanian  officer,  set  out 
in  the  night  toward  the  spot.  A  correspondent  of  the  Leipsic 
Gartenlaube,  who  accompanied  the  Russians  as  far  as  the  river  bank, 
and  witnessed  the  action  while  awaiting  their  return,  thus  describes 
what  followed : 

"  Suddenly  a  shot  was  heard  and  then  a  second.  The  light  of  the 
second  showed  to  me  for  an  instant  a  Turkish  guard  on  board  the 
monitor.  Now  a  shot  was  heard  from  the  Rumanian  shore.  Five 
minutes  afterward  I  again  heard  the  paddling  of  wheels  in  the 
water,  and  soon  one  of  the  little  steamers  landed.  One  of  the 
officers  held  one  end  of  the  wire,  which  I  had  before  seen  fastened 
to  the  torpedo. 

"  '  Everything  worked  capitally,'  an  officer  said.  '  We  took  the 
monitor  in  the  rear,  while  the  others  came  in  front.  We  reached 
the  keel  unnoticed,'  and  pointing  to  a  dripping  artillery-man,  '  our 
diver  there  adjusted  the  thing  in  the  right  place.  Those  fellows 
must  sleep  very  hard.  They  really  had  only  one  man  on  guard. 
He  it  was  who  challenged  the  other  boat  in  Turkish.  Our  Ruma- 
nian friend,  who  really  speaks  Turkish  very  well,  took  the  part  of  an 
officer  belonging  to  the  fleet,  who  was  returning  from  Matchin 
rather  tipsy,  and  told  the  guard  not  to  make  any  fuss  about  it. 
When  the  steamer  moved  off,  the  Turk  began  to  tire,  but  then,  of 
course,  it  was  too  late.  Here  are  the  others.'  ....  After  a  while 
the  officer  holding  the  wire,  asked  :  '  Is  it  time  ? '  The  engineer 

answered  with  a  nod '  Back,  back  all ! '  some  one  cried 

out,  and  we  all  rushed  up  the  bank,  where  the  battery  was  stand- 
ing. Then  there  was  an  explosion  so  terrible  that  even  now  it 
seems  to  resound  in  my  ears.  After  a  short  interval,  another  and 

then  still  another  and  louder  explosion,  and  that  was  all The 

monitor  had  been  literally  blown  into  shreds  by  the  terrible  effect 
of  the  torpedoes  filled  with  dynamite." 

The  Emperor  Alexander  arrived  in  Ployeshti  on  the  6th  of  June, 
accompanied  by  his  sons,  the  Grand  Dukes  Alexander,  Vladimir, 
and  Sergius,  as  well  as  by  his  military  staff  and  his  diplomatic  and 
political  chancery. 

From  this  time  until  the  crossing  of  the  Danube  no  action  of  any 
importance  took  place,  although  artillery  duels  were  kept  up  almost 
constantly  between  the  batteries  on  the  opposite  shores.  The  Rus- 
sians continued  their  advance  rather  slowly  during  May  and  June, 
considering  their  first  spurt  to  the  Danube.  Their  tardiness  was 


234  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST- 

chiefly  owing  to  the  impassable  condition  of  the  Rumanian  roads, 
which,  in  consequence  of  incessant  rains,  had  become  almost  bottom- 
less, while  the  Danube,  at  as  late  a  date  as  the  beginning  of  June, 
was  sixteen  feet  above  its  normal  height.  But  all  preparations  for 
crossing  were  made.  Four  Russian  pontoon-parks  were  sent  by  rail 
from  Galatz  to  Bucharest  and  thence  to  the  Danube.  Wooden  ves- 
sels were  constructed  at  Slatina  and  Galatz,  and  after  they  had 
been  brought  by  rail  to  Slatina  on  the  Aluta,  were  all  moved 
down  the  Aluta  to  Turtm-Magurelli,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Danube 
opposite  Mcopolis.  Torpedo  boats  were  brought  from  Galatz  to 
Slatina  and  to  Fratesti  near  Giurgevo,  in  order  to  blockade  the 
river,  as  soon  as  the  crossing  was  possible,  while  gun-boats  were 
brought  up  in  parts  to  be  put  together  and  employed  in  scouting 
duty. 


CIRCASSIAN    CAVALRY    PASSING    THROUGH    A    TURKISH    TOWN. 


CHAPTER  II. 

PASSAGE   OF   THE   DANUBE   AND   THE   BALKANS. 

Passage  of  the  Danube  at  Galatz — Bombardment  of  Rustchuck — The  Russians  Cross  at 
Sistova — Inactivity  of  the  Turks — Proclamation  of  the  Czar  to  the  Bulgarians — Capt- 
ure of  Braila  and  of  Tirnova — The  Balkan  Passes — Gourko  Crosses  the  Balkans — 
Capture  of  the  Shipka  Pass — Advance  of  Gourko  into  Rumelia — The  Russians  Capt- 
ure Lovatz — Storming  of  Nicopolis. 

As  the  passage  of  the  Danube  was  delayed  from  day  to  day,  the 
Czar  became  impatient,  and  ordered  the  passage  from  Galatz  and 
Braila  to  take  place  within  three  days,  directing  that  everything  be 
in  readiness  by  that  time,  as  he  intended  to  be  present  to  witness 
the  passage.  General  Zimmermann,  commanding  at  those  points, 
pleaded  for  delay,  and  the  Emperor  reluctantly  yielded.  The 
passage  was  finally  effected  on  June  23d.  It  was  described  as  follows 
by  the  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Herald : 

"  The  programme  was  adroitly  planned  and  carried  out.  It  had 
been  ascertained  by  Russian  spies  that  the  Turkish  forces  at 
Matchin  were  in  no  condition  to  oppose  a  crossing,  if  made  in 
force,  and  that  only  straggling  bands  of  Bashi-Bazouks  were  to  be 
met  among  the  low  lands  along  the  river.  Accordingly  before 
dawn  a  few  barge  loads  of  Cossacks  were  sent  across  from  Galatz 
to  Ghiacet.  The  crossing  was  assisted  by  small  steamers,  which 
performed  the  journeys  with  the  barges  as  rapidly  as  possible.  In 
this  manner  a  sufficient  number  of  these  brave  horsemen  were  soon 
across  and  mounted.  They  remained  close  to  the  river,  having 
their  sentries  out  to  give  notice  of  an  approach  of  the  enemy.  The 
guns  in  the  forts  at  Galatz  fully  covered  the  cavalry,  and  the  gun- 
ners stood  ready  to  serve  their  pieces  at  a  signal  from  the  Cossacks. 
So  far  as  can  be  learned,  the  building  of  the  bridge  at  Galatz  par- 
takes of  the  nature  of  a  feint,  because  the  great  body  of  troops 
crossed  into  the  Dobrudja  at  Braila. 

"  Meanwhile  the  same  movement  had  been  made  at  Braila.  The 
barges  at  this  place  were  not  so  large  as  at  Galatz,  and  many  valu- 
able Cossack  ponies  either  fell  or  leaped  from  them  into  the  river, 

(*35) 


236  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST, 

but  they  were  mostly  saved  by  being  lassoed  and  thus  towed  to  the 
shore.  In  some  instances  the  horses  swam  ashore  at  the  call  of 
their  masters,  who  remained  on  the  barges.  After  considerable 
delay  several  hundred  men  were  landed  and  formed  on  a  grassy 
slope  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  river,  the  intervening  land 
being  so  marshy  that  the  horses  were  led  over  it  with  great  difficulty. 
All  being  ready  at  both  points,  the  telegraph  was  put  in  requisition 
from  Braila,  and  a  simultaneous  movement  took  place,  the  Cossacks 
advancing  with  great  rapidity  into  the  Dobrudja.  The  force  landed 
at  Braila  had  by  far  the  more  difficult  task,  for  they  were  compelled 
to  extend  their  line  to  the  utmost,  while  the  detachment  from 
Galatz  advanced  along  the  main  road  and  larger  paths,  outside  of 
which  it  would  be  impossible  for  an  enemy  to  approach  or  to  flank 
them,  because  of  the  marshy  condition  of  the  country.  In  less 
than  two  hours  the  two  lines  of  horsemen  had  formed  a  junction, 
the  distance  between  Galatz  and  Braila,  measured  on  the  inside  of 
the  bend  in  the  river,  being  only  eighteen  miles.  Thus  was  formed 
a  cordon  of  Cossacks  between  the  river's  bank  and  the  enemy.  The 
prominent  part  which  the  Cossack  was  thus  made  to  play  in  the  first 
real  aggressive  movement  into  the  enemy's  territory  in  Europe  is 
worth  noticing.  It  fully  justifies  all  that  has  been  written  about 
the  important  service  which  he,  as  a  horseman,  is  likely  to  render  to 
Russia  in  the  war.  This  brings  the  Cossack  squarely  to  the  front, 
and  makes  of  him  what  the  Uhlan  was  to  the  troops  of  Prussia, 
'  Teclaireur  par  excellence?  Under  cover  of  this  Cossack  cordon, 
the  pontoons  were  towed  into  position,  and  the  bridges  at  the  two 
points  were  soon  laid,  every  plank  being  ready  and  every  man  hav- 
ing a  particular  service  to  perform.  The  Galatz  bridge  was  much 
more  easily  built  than  the  one  at  Braila,  because  at  the  latter  place, 
on  the  Dobrudja  side,  the  long  stretch  of  swamp  land  before  referred 
to  had  to  be  planked  for  the  passage  of  the  artillery.  The  foot 
soldiers  did  not  wait  for  this  event,  however.  No  sooner  had  the 
last  plank  been  laid  in  the  main  structure  than  the  men  already 
drawn  up  in  battalions  were  ordered  to  prepare  for  the  crossing. 
Eight  thousand  men  and  two  batteries  of  artillery  then  passed  over 
as  rapidly  as  possible,  eacji  battalion  forming  directly  it  had  reached 
the  dry  ground.  By  the  time  the  guns  were  ready  to  be  brought 
over,  preparations  for  landing  them  across  the  marsh  were  finished. 
The  enemy  in  the  shape  of  scattered,  irregular  cavalry,  had  shown 
themselves  at  various  points,  and  when  the  main  body  of  troops 


PASSAGE  OF  THE  DANUBE  AND  THE  BALKANS.      237 

had  formed  and  the  batteries  had  been  placed,  the  Cossacks  were 
ordered  forward  to  drive  back  the  videttes.  An  advance  was  then 
made  toward  Matchin,  the  object  being  to  attack  at  once,  before  the 
place  could  be  reinforced.  The  Turks  were  found  posted  on  a 
range  of  hills  to  the  north-westward  of  the  town.  The  batteries  on 
these  hills  opened  on  the  invading  Russian  troops,  and  a  strong  de- 
tachment of  irregulars  sallied  out  to  meet  their  inveterate  foes,  the 
Cossacks.  They  did  not  risk  a  closs  encounter,  however,  and  a  few 
shells  from  the  Russian  battery  posted  on  the  assailed  flank  dispersed 
the  Bashi-Bazouks  and  caused  their  inglorious  retreat  under  cover 
of  the  batteries  on  the  hills.  Without  delay  the  Russians  were 
ordered  to  advance  and  charge  the  batteries.  After  a  severe  hand- 
to-hand  fight  the  outlying  fortifications  were  captured  and  the  guns 
turned  upon  the  fleeing  Turks. 

u  The  second  assault  followed  as  soon  as  the  men  could  be  re- 
formed, and,  with  the  aid  of  the  newly-acquired  field-pieces,  the 
heights  were  carried  by  storm.  These  most  desperate  struggles,  in 
which  the  fighting  was  in  many  instances  hand  to  hand,  continued 
until  late  in  the  afternoon.  Driven  from  their  intrenched  position 
the  Turks  fell  back  on  Matchin.  Nightfall  of  Friday  settled  down 
over  the  hills  and  valleys,  and  the  victorious  invaders  deemed  it 
wiser  to  rest  on  the  successes  of  the  day  than  to  attempt  to  follow 
up  the  retfeat  of  the  Turks.  But  the  Russians  bivouacked  for  the 
night  in  the  deserted  camp.  The  camp  fires  burned  brightly  and 
could  be  seen,  doubtless,  from  the  village  of  Matchin,  distant  only 
two  and  a  half  to  three  miles.  During  the  night  the  utmost  activity 
prevailed  in  the  camp,  and  it  was  soon  generally  known  that  Mat- 
chin  was  to  be  attacked  on  the  morrow.  It  was  impossible  to  ascer- 
tain the  losses,  but  from  their  exposed  position  it  is  probable  the 
Russians  lost  more  men  than  the  Turks.  Prisoners  captured  place 
the  number  of  the  Turkish  garrison  at  6,000  men,  but  it  is  believed 
that  this  estimate  is  too  large.  The  Turkish  force  probably  num- 
bered 5,000,  including  the  irregular  cavalry.  On  yesterday  (Satur- 
day, June  24th)  morning  the  battle  was  renewed.  During  the  night 
the  Turks  had  made  great  efforts  to  strengthen  some  earthworks 
which  were  in  front  of  the  eastern  or  most  feasible  approach  to  the 
village,  but  after  a  few  shells  had  been  thrown  into  the  intrench- 
ments  and  the  town  the  Turks  evacuated  the  former.  The  Russians 
advanced  and  occupied  the  town  only  to  find  that  it  had  been  aban- 
doned by  the  main  body  of  the  Turkish  troops  during  the  darkness. 


238  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Therefore  by  six  o'clock  on  Saturday  morning  the  Russians  held  the 
key  to  the  Dobrudja." 

The  Russian  left  wing  at  the  time  of  the  crossing  comprised  divi- 
sions of  the  4th,  13th,  and  14th  corps.  These  corps  had  been  originally 
concentrated  in  Bessarabia,  and  were  sent  to  the  front  to  relieve  the 
Yth  and  llth  corps  as  soon  as  the  reserve  corps  of  50,000  men  had 
been  mobilized  for  the  defense  of  Odessa,  the  Crimea,  and  the 
northern  coast  of  the  Black  Sea.  The  troops  that  first  crossed  the 
Danube  belonged  to  the  14th  corps.  In  the  following  week,  con- 
siderable activity  was  manifested  throughout  the  Russian  lines. 
Large  bodies  of  troops  were  moved  down  from  Slatina  to  the 
Danube,  where  they  took  up  positions  between  Turnu-Magurelli  and 
Simnitza.  At  the  same  time  the  artillery  fire  was  resumed  by  the 
whole  Russian  line.  The  fiercest  fire  was  at  Rustchuck,  where  it 
was  commenced  on  June  24th,  and  as  the  Herald  correspondent  de- 
scribed it :  "  It  soon  seemed  as  if  every  Russian  gun  was  fired  sim- 
ultaneously, for  the  earth  fairly  trembled  with  the  roar  of  the  artil- 
lery and  the  shells  flew  over  the  doomed  city  with  an  awful  and 
indescribable  sound."  The  Turkish  batteries  promptly  replied  to 
the  fire.  The  Russian  fire,  which  seemed  to  have  for  its  particular 
object  the  center  of  the  city,  caused  great  devastation.  Mosques 
were  destroyed  and  even  hospitals  and  the  foreign  consulates  were 
demolished.  The  house  of  the  British  Consul  fared  decidedly  the 
worst,  so  that  at  last,  in  order  to  save  his  house  from  total  destruc- 
tion, the  Consul  raised  the  American  flag,  but  even  that  expedient 
was  without  avail.  On  Monday  the  entire  population  left  the  city 
and  fled  to  the  interior.  The  town  was  completely  destroyed  by  the 
terrible  fire,  although  the  fortifications  remained  practically  intact. 
The  Turks  in  reply  partly  destroyed  Giurgevo,  into  which,  it  was 
stated,  they  threw  1,500  shells  within  two  days.  At  Nicopolis  also 
the  firing  was  very  severe.  On  Monday,  June  25th,  the  Russians 
occupied  Hirsova.  Having  observed  that  everything  was  very  quiet 
there,  a  party  of  Cossacks  first  crossed  the  Danube  near  Kalarash 
unopposed,  advanced  cautiously  toward  Hirsova  and  found  it  had 
been  evacuated.  On  Tuesday,  June  26th,  the  Russians  succeeded 
in  crossing  from  Simnitza  to  Sistova.  This  crossing,  of  great  im- 
portance, as  it  opened  the  way  for  the  hosts  assembled  along  the 
Aluta,  is  described  as  follows  by  the  correspondent  of  the  London 
Daily  News  : 

"  With  the  darkness  General  Dragomiroff  began  his  dispositions. 


A    COSSACK    RECONNOISSANCE    IN    THE    DOBRUDJA. 


PASSAGE  OF  THE  DANUBE  AND  THE  BALKANS. 


241 


The  first  work  was  to  plant  in  made  emplacements  a  row  of  field- 
guns  all  along  the  edge  of  the  flats  to  sweep  with  fire  the  opposite 
banks.  This  was  while  his  infantry  was  being  marched  over  the 
flats  down  into  the  cover  of  the  willow  wood.  The  darkness  and 
the  obstructions  were  both  so  great  that  all  was  not  ready  till  the 
first  glimmer  of  gcay  dawn.  There  was  no  bridge,  but  a  number 
of  river  boats,  capable  of  holding  from  fifteen  to  forty  men  each. 
These  were  dragged  on  carriages  through  the  mud  and  launched  in 
the  darkness  from  under  the  spreading  boughs  of  the  willow  trees. 
The  troops  embarked  and  pushed  across  as  the  craft  arrived.  Drag- 
omiroff  stood  on  the  slimy  margin  to  bid  his  gallant  fellows  God- 
speed. He  would  fain  have  shown  the  way,  for,  although  a  scien- 
tific soldier,  it  was  his  duty  to  remain  till  later.  The  grateful  task 
devolved  on  Major-General  Yolchine,  whose  brigade  consisted  of  the 
regiments  of  Yalinsk  and  Minsk,  the  Fifty-third  and  Fifty-fourth  of 
the  line.  The  boats  put  off  singly,  rowing  across  for  the  little  cove, 
and  later  the  little  steam-tug  was  brought  into  requisition. 

"  For  once  the  Turks  had  not  spent  the  night  watches  in  heavy 
sleep.  Their  few  cannon  at  once  opened  fire  on  the  boats,  on  the 
hidden  masses  among  the  willows  and  on  the  columns  marching 
across  the  flat.  !N^or  was  this  all.  From  the  slopes  above  the  cove 
there  came  at  the  boats  a  smart  infantry  fire.  The  Turkish  riflemen 
were  holding  the  landing  place.  Yolchine  has  not  gained  experience 
and  credit  in  Caucasian  warfare  for  nothing.  His  boat  was  leading. 
The  Turkish  riflemen  were  in  position  about  fifty  yards  from  the 
shore.  He  landed  his  handful  and  bade  them  lie  down  in  the  mud. 
One  or  two  were  down  previously  with  Turkish  bullets.  He  opened 
a  skirmishing  fire  to  cover  the  landing  boats  that  followed.  One  by 
one  these  landed  their  freights,  who  followed  the  example  of  the 
first  boat  load. 

"At  length  enough  had  accumulated.  Young  Skobeleff  was  there,, 
a  host  in  himself.  Yolchine  bade  his  men  fix  bayonets,  stand  up 
and  follow  their  officers.  There  was  a  rush  and  a  cheer  that  rang 
louder  in  the  gray  dawn  than  the  Turkish  volley  that  answered  it.. 
That  volley  was  not  fired  in  vain,  but  the  Turks  did  not  wait  for 
cold  steel.  Yolchine's  skirmishers  followed  them  doggedly  soma 
distance  up  the  slope,  but  for  the  time  could  not  press  on  far  from, 
the  base.  Busily,  yet  slowly,  the  craft  moved  to  and  fro  from  shore 
to  shore.  The  Russian  guns  had  at  once  opened,  when  the  Turkish 
fire  showed  that  there  was  no  surprise ;  but,  however  heavy  a  fire 

13 


242  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

may  be,  it  will  not  all  at  once  crush  another  fire.  The  Turkish  shells 
kept  falling  in  the  water,  whistling  through  the  willows,  and  burst- 
ing among  the  columns  on  the  flat.  One  shell  from  a  inonntain 
gun  fell  into  a  boat  containing  two  guns,  their  gunners,  and  the  com- 
mandant of  the  battery.  The  boat  was  swamped  at  once,  and  all  on 
board  perished.  This  was  the  only  serious  casualty,  but  numerous 
Russian  soldiers  were  falling  on  both  sides  of  the  river.  Neverthe- 
less the  work  wa9  going  steadily  on,  and  when,  soon  after  seven 
o'clock,  I  went  to  meet  Prince  Mirsky  on  the  high  ground  before 
Simnitza,  the  report  was  that  already  the  whole  brigade  of  Yolchine 
had  reached  the  other  side,  that  a  Russian  battery  was  there,  and 
that  Dragomiroff  himself  had  crossed.  We  stood  for  some  time  sur- 
veying the  scene. 

"  Cast  your  eye  down  there  to  your  left  front  athwart  the  flats,  and 
note  the  masses  of  troops  waiting  there  or  marching  on  toward  the 
cover  of  the  willows.  See  the  long  row  of  guns  in  action  there  by 
the  water's  edge,  covered  by  the  battalions  of  infantry,  in  this  case 
a  mischievous  conventionality,  owing  to  the  exposure,  for  the  Tur- 
kish cannon  will  not  just  yet  be  wholly  silenced.  Note  how  deftly 
the  Russian  shells  pitch  into  that  earthwork  on  the  verge  of  Sistova. 
But  the  gallant  gunners  stubbornly  fight  their  guns  under  the  rain 
of  fire,  and  when  one  gun  is  quiet  another  gives  tongue.  And  what 
a  mark !  Half  an  army  corps  out  there  on  the  flat,  with  no  speck  of 
cover  save  that  patch  of  willows  down  there.  Hark  to  the  crackle 
of  musketry  fire  on  the  wooded  slopes  rising  out  from  the  cove.  No 
wonder  Yolchine's  skirmishers  are  moving,  for  that  Turkish  battery 
on  the  sky  line  is  dropping  shells  with  fell  swiftness  among  the  wil- 
low trees.  Sistova  seems  stark  empty.  It  might  be  a  city  of  the 
dead.  But  the  Turkish  gunners  cling  to  their  posts  and  their  guns 
with  wonderful  stanchness,  amid  clouds  of  dust  thrown  up  by  the 
shells  which  burst  around  them.  Nor  are  the  single  pieces  among 
the  trees  wholly  quiet.  Shells  are  dropping  among  the  troops  on 
the  flat  and  the  ambulance  men  are  hurrying  about  with  brancards 
or  plodding  toward  the  military  surgery  with  heavy,  blood-sodden 
burdens.  You  may  watch  the  shells  drop  into  the  water,  starring 
its  surface  as  they  fall  as  if  it  had  been  glass.  What  a  wonder  that 
one  and  all  should  miss  those  clumsy,  heavy-laden  craft  which  stud 
the  water  so  thickly.  A  shell  in  one  of  these  boats  would  produce 
fearful  results  among  the  closely-packed  freight.  Not  less  fell 
havoc  would  it  work  among  the  soldiers  further  on,  massed  there 
under  the  shelter  of  the  clay  bank. 


PASSAGE  OF  THE  DANUBE  AND  THE  BALKANS. 


243 


"  One  realizes  how  great  would  have  been  the  Russian  loss  if  the 
Turks  had  been  in  any  great  force  in  the  Sistova  position,  and  how, 
after  all,  the  Commander-in-chief  might  have  been  forced  to  take  a 
denial,  accepting  the  inevitable.  But  as  the  affair  stands,  the  whole 
thing  might  have  been  a  spectacle  specially  got  up  for  the  gratifica- 
tion of  Simnitza  enjoying  the  effect  from  the  platform  high-ground 
overhanging  the  flats.  The  laughter  and  bustle  there  are  in  strange 
contrast  with  the  apparent  absence  of  human  life  in  Sistova,  opposite. 
But  then,  Sistova  was  a  victim  lashed  to  the  stake.  Those  on  Sim- 
nitza Bluff  knew  their  skins  were  safe. 

"Prince  Mirski  has  received  his  reports  and  final  instructions. 
He  gives  word  to  his  division  to  move  down  on  to  the  flats,  to  be  in 
readiness  to  cross.  Previously,  their  march  finished,  they  had  been 
resting  on  the  grassy  uplands  behind  Simnitza.  As  we  leave  the 
plateau  the  cry  rises  that  a  Turkish  monitor  is  coming  down  the 
Danube.  Sure  enough,  near  the  head  of  the  island  is  visible  what 
seems  to  be  a  large  vessel  with  two  funnels  moving  slowly  down  the 
stream.  Now  the  ferryboats  may  look  out.  Now  is  the  oppor- 
tunity for  some  dashing  torpedo  practice.  But  the  Russian  oflicers 
evince  no  alarm — rather,  indeed,  satisfaction.  The  fact  is,  as  we 
presently  discern  with  the  glass,  that  seeming  monitor  is  really  two 
large  lighters  lashed  together,  which  the  Russians  are  drifting  down 
to  assist  in  transporting  the  troops.  No  person  is  visible  on  board, 
yet  some  one  must  be  steering,  and  the  course  held  is  a  bold  one. 
Slowly  the  lighters  forge  ahead  past  the  very  mouths  of  the  Turkish 
cannon  in  the  Sistova  battery,  and  are  barely  noticed  by  a  couple  of 
shells.  They  bring  to  at  the  Rumanian  shore  higher  up  than  the 
crossing  place,  and  wait  there  for  their  freight.  Prince  Mirski  takes 
his  stand  at  the  pontoon  bridge  to  watch  his  division  file  past  and 
greet  the  regiments  as  they  pass  him. 

"  But  in  front  of  the  Ninth  division  comes  a  regiment  of  the  brig- 
ade of  riflemen  formed  specially  for  this  war,  and  attached  to  no  army 
corps.  This  brigade  is  armed  with  Berdan  rifles,  and  comprises  the 
finest  marksmen  of  the  whole  army.  Prince  Mirski's  division  is 
made  up  of  four  historic  regiments  which  suffered  most  heavily  in 
Sebastopol  during  the  great  siege.  They  are  the  regiments  of 
Yeletsk,  of  Sefsk,  of  Orloff,  and  of  Brianski,  the  Thirty-third, 
Thirty-fourth,  Thirty-fifth,  and  Thirty-sixth  of  the  Russian  line. 
Yery  gallantly  they  marched  down  the  steep  slope  and  across  the 
bridge  on  to  the  swampy  flats.  Soon  there  greets  them  the  scarcely 


244  THE  WAR  IN  THE 

enlivening  spectacle,  the  surgery  of  the  second  line,  where  the  more 
serious  cases  were  being  dealt  with  before  forwarding  them  to  the 
house  hospitals  in  Simnitza.  As  we  passed,  about  twenty  shattered 
creatures  were  lying  there  on  blood-stained  stretchers  waiting 
their  turn  at  the  hands  of  the  doctors.  More  than  one  I  noticed  re- 
quired no  further  treatment  than  to  be  consigned  to  a  soldier's 
grave.  Beyond  the  first  swamp  we  met  a  fine  young  officer  of  the 
Guards  carried  on  a  stretcher  with  a  shattered  leg.  But  the  plucky 
youngster  raised  himself  jauntily  on  his  elbow  to  salute  the  general, 
and  wrote  a  telegram  in  my  note-book  to  acquaint  his  friends  that 
he  was  not  much  hurt.  A  little  further  on,  as  we  were  passing  the 
rear  of  the  guns,  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  the  younger,  son  of  the 
Commander-in-chief,  rode  off  from  the  battery  to  greet  our  general. 
The  members  of  the  Imperial  family  of  Russia  do  not  spare  them- 
selves when  other  subjects  of  the  Czar  are  exposing  themselves  on 
the  battle-field.  In  Russia  it  is  not  the  fashion  that  lofty  station 
gives  exemption  from  the  more  dangerous  tasks  of  patriotism.  The 
young  Grand  Duke  had  been  across  the  Danube  and  was  in  high 
spirits  at  the  success  of  the  enterprise. 

"  Going  still  forward  toward  the  willows  we  all  but  stuck,  horses 
and  all,  in  the  deep,  holding  mud.  It  wras  admirable  to  see  the 
energy  with  which  the  heavily-laden  soldiers  of  the  infantry  column 
battled  on  doggedly  through  obstruction.  I  should  have  said  earlier 
that  the  troops  were  in  complete  marching  order,  and  that  for  this 
day  they  had  discarded  their  cool,  white  clothing,  and  were  crossing 
in  heavy  blue  clothing.  Two  reasons  were  assigned  for  this.  One, 
the  greater  warmth  to  the  wounded  in  case  of  lying  exposed  to  the 
night  chills.  The  other,  that  white  clothing  was  too  conspicuous. 
The  latter  reason  is  rubbish.  Blue  on  the  light  ground  of  the  Danube 
sand  is  more  conspicuous  than  white.  Everywhere,  British  scarlet 
is  more  conspicuous  than  any  other.  The  true  fighting  color  is  the 
dingy  kharki  of  our  Indian  irregulars. 

"  And  what  of  the  Turkish  monitor  ?  She  had  been  hemmed  in 
by  a  cordon  of  torpedoes  within  the  side  channel  to  the  south  of  the 
island  of  East  Yardim.  Although  she  was  purling  and  blowing 
furiously  in  her  circumscribed  area,  a  Russian  battery  moving  down 
the  river  bank  on  the  Rumanian  side,  shelled  her  into  a  melancholy 
victim  of  the  acknowledged  supremacy  of  the  newest  war  machine. 
So  the  resistance  terminated,  and  what  followed  is  mere  routine  work. 
Iron  pontoons  began  casually  to  make  their  appearance  both  from  up- 


PASSAGE  OF  THE  DANUBE  AND  THE  BALKANS. 


245 


stream  and  down-stream,  and  accumulated  about  the  crossing  places,  be- 
ing used  for  the  time  as  ferryboats.  A  complete  pontoon  is  in  reserve 
at  Simnitza,  and  will  be  on  the  water's  edge  to-night  and  be  laid  to- 
morrow. Probably  there  will  be  two  bridges,  for  this  is  the  crossing 
place  of  the  main  column,  and  will  be  the  great  Russian  thorough- 
fare to  and  from  Turkey.  Simultaneously  with  the  pontoon  boats 
appeared  on  the  scene  the  Emperor's  brother,  the  Grand  Duke 
Nicholas,  with  Gen.  Nepokoitchitzky,  and  spoiled  my  prospects  of 
dinner  by  requisitioning  the  whole  hotel.  The  Emperor  did  not 
turn  up. 

"  It  is  useless  to  waste  more  words.  The  crossing  has  been  effected 
by  a  coup  de  main  with  marvelous  skill  and  finesse.  Until  the  last 
moment  no  hint  was  given.  The  foreign  attaches  were  all  abroad. 
The  Emperor  and  suite  were  ostentatiously  at  Turnu-Magurelli, 
and  yet  further  to  promote  the  delusion,  the-Nicopolis  position  was 
assiduously  bombarded  the  day  before.  The  successful  effort  has 
probably  cost  only  1,000  men  killed  and  wounded." 

With  this  crossing  effected,  the  Russians  had  made  a  great  step 
forward.  Throughout  Europe,  and  particularly  in  England,  the 
achievement  created  considerable  excitement.  Speaking  of  its  im- 
portance, the  London  Times  said  : 

"  Since  the  days  when  an  Emperor  capitulated  at  Sedan,  and  a 
great  army  went  into  captivity  from  Metz,  no  event  has  created  so 
intense  an  excitement  as  the  passage  of  the  Danube  in  force  by  the 
Russian  army.  In  all  the  wars  that  have  raged  in  the  revolutionary 
period,  which  extends  from  1848  to  the  present  time,  there  has  been 
no  movement  more  colossal,  more  dramatic,  and  at  the  same  time 
more  closely  affecting  the  interests  of  Europe  and  the  future  course 
of  history." 

The  Russians,  being  now  fully  in  the  enemy's  country,  found  the 
Turks  chiefly  massed  on  their  left  wing,  in  the  garrisons  occupying 
the  fortresses  of  the  quadrilateral.  Away  beyond  their  right  wing 
was  Osman  Pasha  with  his  garrison  at  Widin,  who  might  at  any  time, 
however,  move  up  into  a  more  threatening  proximity  to  them.  They 
had  to  consider,  before  advancing  in  force,  the  necessity  of  protecting 
their  wings,  especially  the  left,  where  the  Turks  were  very  strong, 
and  of  guarding  their  communications  over  the  river.  Apparently, 
a  division  of  their  force  so  as  to  carry  out  both  purposes  would  be  a 
hazardous  operation,  and  leave  both  columns  too  weak  to  perform 
their  work  efficiently.  Yet  the  temptations  to  go  forward  were  very 


246  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

strong.  Directly  before  them  lay  the  road  to  Adrianople  and  Con- 
stantinople, the  thought  of  which  is  associated  with  so  many  dreams 
of  glory  to  the  Russian  mind.  From  Sistova  they  might  march  to 
the  Yantra,  and  along  its  borders  to  Biela,  whence  three  roads  diverge 
to  Rustchuk,  Tirnova,  and  Plevna ;  thence  up  the  valley  of  the  Yan- 
tra  to  the  larger  city  of  Tirnova,  the  ancient  capital  of  the  Bulgarian 
Czars,  the  meeting-place  of  the  roads  of  Western  Bulgaria,  which  is 
connected  with  Shumla  by  a  road,  and  is  the  starting-point  of  two 
passes  over  the  Balkans ;  further  up  the  Yantra  valley-road  lay  the 
towns  of  Drenova  and  Gabrova,  from  the  latter  of  which  places  a 
good  road  leads,  by  way  of  Selvi  and  Lovatz,  to  West  Bulgaria. 
From  Gabrova  also  rises  the  mountain  pass  which  leads  over  Shipka 
to  Kasanlik  in  the  Tundja  valley,  whence  Adrianople  may  be  reached 
either  by  marching  down  the  Tundja,  or  by  the  shorter,  more  direct 
road  through  Eski  Sagra  and  Kharskoi.  The  latter  road  has  the  ad- 
vantage for  a  hostile  force,  that  the  railways  from  Yamboli  to  Khars- 
koi and  from  Adrianople  to  Philippopolis  can  be  most  quickly 
reached  by  it.  The  Russians  received  unexpected  help  in  carrying 
out  the  bold  policy  which  they  concluded  to  adopt,  from  the  unac- 
countable supineness  of  the  Turkish  generals. 

Immediately  after  the  crossing  of  the  river,  the  Czar  issued  a  proc- 
lamation to  the  Bulgarians,  in  which  he  promised  to  the  Christians 
complete  protection  against  all  violence.  Russia,  he  said,  was  ful- 
filling its  sacred  mission  to  protect  the  rights  of  the  diiferent  nation- 
alities, and  to  pacify  all  races  and  worshipers.  The  Mussulmans 
also  were  promised  protection  and  justice ;  only  the  well-known  au- 
thors of  the  atrocities  which  had  been  committed  would  be  severely 
punished. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  crossing  from  Simnitza  took  place,  the 
Russians  made  a  serious  demonstration  at  Turnu-Magurelli,  a  little 
higher  up  the  stream,  which  might  have  been  turned  into  a  real  at- 
tack, had  a  fair  chance  offered.  The  Russian  forces  were  so  distrib- 
uted in  the  neighboring  villages  that  they  could  fall  with  ease  upon 
Simnitza  or  Turnu-Magurelli,  and  the  last  moment  it  was  uncertain 
which  place  would  be  chosen.  On  June  28th,  the  Emperor  and  the 
Grand  Duke  Nicholas  took  up  their  headquarters  at  Simnitza,  and  a 
few  days  afterward  at  Tsarevitza,  near  Sistova. 

The  Turks  remained  completely  inactive  during  the  month  of 
July,  Abdul  Kerim  insisting  that  he  had  a  plan  which  would  event- 
ually result  in  the  total  defeat  of  the  Russians.  This  inactivity  at 


PASSAGE  OF  THE  DANUBE  AND  THE  BALKANS.      247 

one  time  seemed  to  threaten  the  Turkish  army  with  the  loss  of  the 
campaign,  without  a  single  battle  being  fought.  It  permitted  the 
Russians  to  establish  themselves  in  sufficient  strength,  to  secure  a 
fortified  crossing-place,  Sistova,  to  isolate  the  fortresses  of  Rust- 
chuk  and  Silistria,  and  to  secure  the  passes  of  the  Central  Balkans. 
In  these  operations  they  were  universally  successful,  meeting  with 
but  little  opposition,  as  will  be  seen  from  a  detailed  account.  The 
advanced  guard  of  the  army  coming  from  Simnitza  having  secured 
the  massive  bridge  over  the  Tantra,  at  Biela,  on  July  1st,  a  cavalry 
detachment  under  General  Gourko,  after  a  short  engagement  with 
about  3,000  Turks,  captured  Tirnova  on  July  Yth,  which  place  was 
strongly  garrisoned  by  a  large  detachment  of  infantry.  During  the 
following  days  the  main  army  secured  a  strong  position  along  the 
line  of  the  Yantra,  with  its  front  toward  Osman  Bazar  and  Ras- 
grad,  while  to  secure  its  rear,  detachments  of  Cossacks  scoured  the 
country  to  the  west  as  far  as  Lovatz  and  Plevna.  At  the  same  time 
preparations  were  made  for  the  operations  against  the  passes  of  the 
Central  Balkans  by  General  Gourko,  after  he  had  previously  occu- 
pied Gabrova,  where  most  of  the  roads  north  of  the  Balkans  crossed 
each  other. 

The  Balkan  Mountains,  which  the  Russians  Lad  now  reached, 
formed  the  second  line  of  defense  for  the  Turks.  They  are  for  the 
most  part  impassable,  being  crossed  by  only  a  few  known  passes, 
which  were  all  held  and  strongly  fortified  by  the  Turks.  Besides 
these  passes,  however,  there  are  a  number  of  bridle-paths  and  secret 
passes,  known  only  to  the  Bulgarians.  The  passes  may  be  properly 
divided  into  two  groups,  radiating  respectively  from  Shumla  in  the 
east,  and  Tirnova  in  the  west.  The  Tirnova  group  comprises  the 
Shipka  Pass  and  the  Tvarditza  Pass.  iChe  Shipka  Pass  is  reached 
from  Tirnova  by  a  road  running  through  Gabrova,  and  is  at  its  sum- 
mit 4,500  feet  above  the  sea.  From  this  pass  there  is  a  beautiful  view 
on  the  valley  below,  where  the  town  of  Kasanlik  lies,  almost  hidden 
by  the  numerous  rose  gardens,  from  which  is  drawn  the  material  for 
the  attar  of  roses,  which  is  manufactured  here.  The  Tvarditza  Pass 
is  reached  from  Tirnova  by  a  road  through  the  valley  of  the  Saltar 
to  Elena,  whence  a  path  goes  over  the  mountains  to  the  village  of" 
Tvarditza  into  the  valley  of  the  Tundja,  and  along  the  left  bank  of" 
this  river  to  the  town  of  Kasanlik.  It  is  about  4,000  feet  high.  A 
little  beyond  Tvarditza  the  Balkans  branch  off  into  three  separate ; 
ranges,  the  Kutchuk  or  Little  Mountains,  the  Stara  Planina  or  Old 


248  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Mountains,  and  the  Ernineh  Dagh,  running  to  Cape  Emineh ;  and 
through  these  run  the  various  passes  belonging  to  the  Shumla  group. 
In  the  hollow  between  the  Kutchuk  and  the  Stara  Planiua  branches 
of  the  Balkans,  surrounded  on  every  side  by  the  steep  hills,  lies  the 
town  of  Kasan,  called  by  the  Bulgarians  Kotel  (kettle),  from  the 
peculiar  shape  of  the  gorge  enclosing  it.  Through  this  gorge  passes 
the  road  from  Osman  Bazar,  crossing  on  its  way  the  Binar  and  Kut- 
chuk ranges.  West  of  Kasan  lies  the  famous  pass  of  Demir  Kapu 
or  Iron  Gate,  a  narrow  and  gloomy  defile  of  unusual  strength.  The 
chain  may  also  be  crossed  from  Kasan  by  another  route,  running  south- 
eastward through  the  narrow  defile  of  Kotlenski  Buaz,  and  entering 
the  town  of  Karnabad  from  the  west.  The  latter  place  is,  moreover, 
accessible  by  another  pass,  the  Dobrot  Pass.  This,  although  the  most 
direct  approach  from  Shumla,  can  be  reached  only  by  taking  or  mask- 
ing that  fortress,  which  completely  commands  the  road  leading  to  it. 
This  pass  is  2,000  feet  high.  The  road  leading  to  Aidos  over  the 
Nadir-Derbent  Pass,  starts  from  Pravadi  on  the  Yarna  Railroad. 
The  first  part  of  the  line  of  march  is  the  most  difficult  of  the  east- 
ern routes.  By  this  pass  Gen.  Rudiger,  in  1829,  crossed  the  Balkans, 
while  his  colleague,  Gen.  Roth,  avoided  the  mountains  by  taking  the 
shore  road  from  Yarna  to  Missivri.  Besides  these  is  the  Topolnitza 
Pass  in  the  Western  Balkans,  near  Etropol,  which  has  more  than 
once  played  an  important  part  in  the  history  of  media? val  Europe. 

On  July  12th,  General  Gourko  set  out  from  Tiruova  to  cross  the 
Balkans.  Instead,  however,  of  choosing  the  Shipka  Pass,  he 
marched  from  Tirnova  on  the  road  to  Slivno,  and  then  a  little 
beyond  Elena  turned  to  the  south,  crossing  the  Balkans  on  one  of 
those  small  bridle-paths  known  only  to  the  native  Bulgarians.  The 
passage,  owing  to  the  difficulties  of  the  country,  was  a  very  difficult 
one.  A  correspondent  of  the  London  Times,  who  accompanied  the 
expedition,  spoke  of  it  as  follows : 

"  Two  passes,  well  known,  lead  through  the  mountains  in  this 
direction,  the  one  by  Gabrova,  the  other  by  Elena.  We  are  at- 
tempting to  pass  between  them  along  such  a  path  as  guides  take  a 
tourist  who  wishes  to  ascend  a  mountain  where  there  is  no  road. 
Sometimes  in  a  valley  there  is  a  good  cart  track  for  a  mile  or  so, 
then  the  way  lies  along  the  bed  of  a  stream  ;  but  two  squadrons  of 
Cossacks,  and  another  of  Cossacks  turned  into  mounted  sappers, 
have  reached  the  top  of  the  pass,  and  made  such  alterations  as 
render  it  practicable  for  guns,  practicable  after  a  fashion,  but  very 


GENERAL  GOURKO. 


THE    ROAD    TO    THE    SHIPKA    PASS. 


PASSAGE  OF  THE  DANUBE  AND  THE  BALKANS. 


251 


difficult Yet  all  the  while  the  Cossack  improvised  sappers 

are  hard  at  work  preparing  the  road  for  the  artillery.  It  is  a  mere 
mountain  path,  leading  partly  across  or  along  streams,  partly  around 
hill-sides,  sometimes  hanging  many  feet  above  the  stream,  and 
sloping  dangerously  toward  it.  General  Rauch  is  there  in  front,  and 

the  men  are  doing  their  best For  the  artillery,  especially  for 

the  last  battery,  because  the  others  had  cut  up  the  road,  the  day's 
work  was  terrible ;  nearly  all  the  drivers  were  pressing  their  horses 
and  laying  on  their  whips  with  true  Russian  good-will,  the  gunners 
pushing  and  pulling.  Never  did  horses  work  harder ;  yet  the  guns 
hung  behind,  for  it  is  doubtful  whether  guns  were  ever  taken  along 
such  roads  before  at  such  a  pace." 

On  the  14th  he  reached  Hainkoi  on  the  southern  slope  of  the 
Balkans.  Small  detatchments  of  the  enemy  which  were  met  here 
were  repulsed,  as  well  as  on  the  following  days  at  various  other 
points.  On  the  17th  the  enemy  was  also  driven  from  Kasanlik,  and 
the  village  of  Shipka,  lying  to  the  north,  was  taken  after  a  short 
engagement.  On  the  same  day  Prince  Mirski,  with  the  Orloff  in- 
fantry regiment  and  the  30th  Don  Cossacks,  attacked  the  Shipka 
Pass  from  the  north,  coming  from  Gabrova.  The  Turks  were  well 
intrenched  here,  with  fourteen  tabors  of  infantry  and  eight  guns, 
and  after  having  been  driven  from  their  more  advanced  positions 
at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  they  made,  for  a  time,  a  desperate 
resistance,  the  Russians  losing  over  two  hundred  dead  and  wounded. 
But  fearing  to  be  surrounded  both  from  the  north  and  the  south, 
they  withdrew  on  the  19th,  leaving  their  artillery  in  the  hands  of 
the  Russians.  During  his  march  in  the  valley  of  the  Tundja, 
General  Gourko  had  sent  a  cavalry  detachment  to  the  south,  which 
cut  the  telegraph  wires  at  Yeni  Sagra.  Detachments  of  Cossacks 
also  made  their  appearance  at  Yamboli.  Two  days  before  the  cap- 
ture of  the  Shipka  Pass,  a  detachment  of  troops  under  General 
Sherebkoff  occupied  Lovatz,  which  was  of  great  importance  in  se- 
curing the  right  wing  of  the  Balkan  positions. 

The  Russians  had  gained  possession  of  the  line  of  the  Yantra 
from  Sistova  to  Gabrova,  and  had  immediately  prepared  for  the 
march  over  the  Balkans.  In  order  to  secure  their  line,  they  must 
gain  a  considerable  extent  of  territory  on  their  right  and  left,  and 
form  for  themselves  a  secure,  broad  basis  of  operations,  which  ex- 
tending as  far  to  the  east  as  the  Turkish  line  of  Rustchuk,  Rasgrad 
and  Shumla,  should  include  the  river  Lorn  in  its  scope,  and  should 


252  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

stretch  westwardly  over  the  Osma  Valley  to  the  river  Yid.  In  the 
west,  lay  on  the  Osma  the  important  towns  of  ISTicopolis,  Bulgareni, 
Lovatz,  Trojan,  Selvi,  east  of  Trojan,  Plevna  further  west  on  the 
river  Yid.  If  they  were  masters  of  this  territory  extending  from 
the  Yid  to  the  Lorn,  they  would  have  a  solid  position  against  the 
quadrilateral,  and  any  force  which  might  come  out  from  it  would 
also  be  secure  against  attack  from  Widin,  Nissa,  and  Sophia  on  the 
west,  and  would  be  able  to  guard  their  troops  in  the  Balkans 
against  an  attempt  to  cut  them  off. 

The  first  point  of  attack  was  Kicopolis.  This  is  a  very  ancient 
and  important  fortress,  and  was  the  scene  of  the  defeat  of  the 
French  and  Hungarian  army  by  Sultan  Bayazid,  in  1396.  It  threat- 
ened Sistova  and  the  right  wing  of  the  Russians,  and  its  capture 
was  indispensable  to  the  success  of  a  further  advance.  The  move- 
ment had  been  made  against  it  even  before  the  successes  of  General 
Gourko  in  the  Balkans,  and  the  position,  with  its  garrison  of  six 
thousand  men,  had  surrendered  to  the  Russians  on  the  15th.  The 
correspondent  of  the  oSTew  York  Herald  gives  the  following  account 
of  the  operations  previous  to  the  surrender : 

"  A  crossing  at  Nicopolis  possesses  many  advantages  over  that  at 
Sistova.  The  river's  current  is  not  as  strong,  and  a  number  of 
small  islands  fronting  Turnu-Magurelli  are  very  favorably  located 
for  bridging  purposes.  In  reality  Nicopolis  was  the  selected  point 
for  the  original  crossing  of  the  Danube,  but  circumstances  and  the 
Turks  forced  the  adoption  of  the  Sistova  line.  The  batteries  at 
Turnu-Magurelli  had  reduced  Nicopolis  to  ruins ;  but  the  two  hills 
on  which  the  town  was  built  completely  sheltered  the  Turkish  forces 
from  the  Russian  fire.  Therefore,  it  became  necessary  to  attack 
the  town  and  position  from  the  Bulgarian  side  of  the  river.  For 
this  purpose  a  considerable  force  of  infantry  was  massed  west  of 
Sistova,  and  during  the  concentration  these  troops  served  to  cover 
the  crossing.  "VYhen  the  two  corps  had  established  themselves  in 
the  direction  of  Biela  and  Tirnova  the  covering  body  was  prepared 
to  move  on  Nicopolis.  But,  in  the  meantime,  the  Turks  were 
strengthening  their  position  and  preparing  to  defeat  the  clearly 
apparent  object  of  their  enemy.  All  the  indications,  therefore, 
pointed  to  a  bloody  struggle  for  the  possession  of  JSTicopolis,  and,  to 
speak  truly,  neither  side  seemed  over-anxious  to  begin  it.  The 
threatened  failure  of  the  Sistova  bridge  and  the  frequent  interrup- 


PASSAGE  OF  THE  DANUBE  AND  THE  BALKANS.      253 

tions  of  traffic,  necessitated  by  the  repairs,  forced  the  Russians  to 
make  the  attack. 

"  The  extensive  swamp  and  lake  west  of  Sistova  interfered  con- 
siderably with  the  Russian  advance,  although  it  afforded  a  decided 
protection  against  Turkish  attack  from  that  side.  The  Cossacks  had 
been  skirmishing  and  scouting  for  more  than  two  days  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Plevna  and  Nicopolis,  and  their  operations  and  activity 
masked  the  preparations  of  the  attacking  column  very  effectually. 
Finally  the  order  for  the  Russian  advance  was  given,  and  after  an 
arduous  march  around  the  lake  and  toward  N  icopolis,  the  contend- 
ing forces  came  into  collision.  The  Turks  had  taken  the  precaution 
to  cover  their  position  by  double  lines  of  pickets,  supported,  at  in- 
tervals, by  several  companies  of  picked  troops.  This  was  to  guard 
against  the  raids  of  the  Cossacks,  whose  enterprise  has  impressed 
itself  thoroughly  upon  the  Turkish  mind.  These  lines  of  pickets 
made  what  might  be  termed  a  formal  show  of  resistance,  and  slowly 
retired  on  the  main  body.  As  soon  as  the  Russians  came  within 
effective  range  of  the  Turkish  position  they  were  met  by  a  severe 
artillery  fire,  which,  however,  did  not  check  their  advance,  and  to 
which  they  replied  with  a  still  more  formidable  fire.  The  Turks 
being  posted  on  a  commanding  position  had  a  considerable  advan- 
tage, and,  as  the  Russians  approached,  frightful  gaps  were  made  in 
their  ranks  by  the  Turkish  artillery.  With  surprising  valor,  how- 
ever, they  continued  to  approach  the  heights,  and  as  soon  as  they 
came  within  rifle  range  they  opened  a  terrible  fire  on  the  Turks. 
For  half  an  hour  this  musketry  duel  continued  with  unabated  vigor. 
The  Russians,  in  the  meantime,  developed  their  front,  so  as  to  ap- 
proach their  left  in  the  direction  of  the  Osma  River.  This  was  a 
movement  which  threatened  the  Turkish  line  of  retreat  to  the  south- 
westward  and  westward.  About  midday  on  Sunday  the  order  for 
the  assault  was  given,  and  the  whole  Russian  line,  supported  by 
several  batteries  of  artillery,  advantageously  posted,  stormed  the 
heights  occupied  by  the  Turks.  During  this  awful  climb,  in  the 
face  of  a  deadly  fire,  the  Russians  suffered  terribly ;  while  the  Turks, 
stubbornly  defending  their  position,  sustained  equal  losses.  But  the 
onset  was  so  impetuous  that  the  Turks  could  not  withstand  it  and 
were  driven  headlong  over  the  crest  of  the  hills  toward  Nicopolis, 
followed  by  the  Cossacks  and  detachments  of  light  infantry." 

The  Russians,  who  were  commanded  by  Baron  Kriidener,  fought 


254  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST- 

with  great  bravery,  according  to  all  accounts.  The  entire  Turkish 
garrison,  consisting  of  6,000  men,  with  Hassan  and  Achmed  Pashas, 
surrendered  to  the  victors,  together  with  two  monitors  and  forty 
cannon. 

The  capture  of  ISTicopolis  gave  to  the  Russian  army,  for  the  first 
time,  a  secure  foothold  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Danube.  A  bridge 
was  not  constructed  at  this  point,  but  a  regular  communication  with 
Turnu-Magurelli,  on  the  Rumanian  bank,  was  established  by  boats. 
The  advance  of  the  Russian  columns  which,  since  the  beginning  of 
July,  and  the  occupation  of  the  Yantra  bridge  at  Biela,  had  been 
directed  against  the  western  front  of  the  quadrilateral,  and  against 
the  passes  of  the  central  Balkans,  could  now  proceed  more  smoothly. 
Active  preparations  were  made  to  take  Rustchuk.  The  Twelfth 
and  Thirteenth  corps,  under  the  command  of  the  Czarevitch,  were 
detailed  to  invest  this  fortress.  In  the  middle  of  July  the  advance 
guard  had  reached  the  heights  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Black  Lorn, 
and  had  repulsed  several  advances  of  the  garrison  under  Eshreff 
Pasha.  But  as  these  troops  were  not  deemed  sufficient,  the  Eleventh 
division  of  the  Eleventh  corps  and  a  part  of  the  Eleventh  cavalry 
division  were  added,  so  that  at  the  close  of  July  the  army  of  the 
Czarevitch  consisted  of  fully  two  and  two-third  corps,  which  enabled 
him  to  extend  the  crescent-shaped  position  of  his  lines  south  of 
Rustchuk,  beyond  Kadikoi  to  the  railroad  station,  Yetova,  thus  in- 
terrupting the  communication  by  rail  between  Rustchuk  and  Shurala. 
But  even  these  forces  did  not  suffice  to  complete  the  investment  of 
Rustchuk  from  the  land,  for  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  send 
several  brigades  up  the  Lorn  into  the  neighborhood  of  Osman  Bazar, 
for  the  Turks  had  drawn  a  large  number  of  the  troops  stationed  at 
Varna  and  Shumla  to  Rasgrad,  and  had  strongly  fortified  themselves 
at  that  place.  The  50,000  men  under  Achmet  Eyub  Pasha,  which 
were  gathered  at  this  point,  formed  the  real  army  of  operation,  of 
which  two  brigades  were  advanced  as  far  as  Eski  Djuma  and  Osman 
Bazar,  while  Turkish  outposts  extended  as  far  as  Yenikoi.  The  re- 
mainder of  July  was  filled  up  with  unimportant  engagements  of  the 
outposts  and  a  bombardment  of  Rustchuk  from  Giurgevo,  frequently 
interrupted  by  long  pauses. 


THE    EMPEROR    ALEXANDER    II.    IN    THE    NEVSKI    PROSPEKT, 
ST.    PETERSBURG. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE   RUSSIAN   ADVANCE   IN   ARMENIA. 

Sketch  of  the  Field  of  the  Armenian  Campaign — Its  History — First  Advance  of  the 
Russians — Capture  of  Bayazid — Capture  of  Ardahan — Gen.  Melikoff  before  Kars — 
Gen.  Tergukassoff  at  Zeidekan  — The  Turks  everywhere  Retreating  before  the 
Russians. 

THE  district  which  was  the  scene  of  operations  in  Asia  is  a  coun- 
try possessing  considerable  historical  interest,  and  has  been  the  scene 
of  important  expeditions  and  fierce  wars  during  several  thousand 
years.  Extending  from  the  Caucasus  Mountains  to  Lake  Yan,  and 
from  the  eastern  boundary  of  Turkey  to  Erzerum,  it  includes  the 
ancient  Colchis,  the  objective  point  of  the  Argonautic  Expedition, 
the  first  commercial  enterprise  mentioned  in  Grecian  history,  and 
the  central  part  of  the  former  kingdom  of  Armenia.  The  head- 
waters of  the  Euphrates  and  Araxes  are  within  or  near  its  borders  ; 
and  on  its  eastern  edge,  between  Russian  Erivan  and  Turkish 
Bayazid,  almost  directly  in  the  line  of  march  of  the  Russian  left 
wing,  stands  the  mountain  called  Ararat.  The  expeditions  of  Cy- 
rus and  Darius  marched  through  Armenia  when  they  went  to  give 
to  the  Scythians  of  the  region  between  the  Don  and  the  Danube, 
the  present  Little  Russia,  an  impression  of  the  power  of  the 
Persian  Empire.  Later  in  Persian  history,  the  famous  retreat  of 
the  ten  thousand  Greeks,  the  story  of  which,  related  by  its  leader,  is 
still  one  of  the  most  cherished  treasures  of  classical  literature,  was 
conducted  by  Xenophon  after  the  disastrous  defeat  at  Cunaxa,  up 
the  Tigris  to  the  shores  of  Lake  Yan,  whence  it  proceeded  north- 
westwardly, most  probably  by  way  of  the  site  of  what  is  now  Erze- 
rura,  which  was  then  occupied  by  several  wealthy  villages — Hassan 
Kaleh,  Zewin,  Bard  ess,  Olti,  and  Gymnias,  supposed  now  to  be  Ardan- 
utch — places  whose  names  will  appear  frequently  in  the  course  of 
the  present  history — to  Trebizond,  on  the  Black  Sea.  The  battles 
which  decided  the  fate  of  Armenia  during  the  wars  of  Alexander 
the  Great,  were  fought  around  it,  but  not  within  it ;  but  the  region 

(»55) 


256  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

again  appears  as  a  field  of  battles  during  the  wars  of  the  Romans 
with  Mithridates,  King  of  Pontus,  when  Tigranes,  who  had  made 
a  considerable  kingdom  of  the  Greater  Armenia,  or  Armenia  east  of 
the  Euphrates,  provoked  an  invasion  of  the  Romans,  by  giving  sup- 
port to  their  foe.  Armenia  remained  independent,  and  upon  the 
rise  of  the  Parthian  Empire,  became  an  object  of  contention 
between  that  power  and  the  Romans.  The  Emperor  Trajan 
took  possession  of  the  country  A.D.  115,  and  made  it  a  Roman  prov- 
ince, but  his  successor,  Hadrian,  restored  it  to  its  sovereign  and  to 
independence.  The  kingdom  was  overcome  by  Sapor,  King  of  Per- 
sia, in  the  middle  of  the  third  century  of  the  Christian  Era,  but  re- 
covered its  independence  under  Tiridates,  twenty-seven  years  after- 
ward. It  was  made  tributary  to  Persia  on  the  death  of  this  king, 
A.D.  342,  and  became  a  Persian  province  a  few  years  afterward.  The 
heroic  and  protracted  resistance  which  was  made  by  Artogerana,  a 
fortress  situated  near  the  head-waters  of  the  Tigris,  and  the  last 
place  in  Armenia  that  surrendered  to  the  Persian  King,  is  a  fitting 
parallel  to  the  famous  defense  which  was  made  by  Kars  against  the 
siege  by  the  Russians  in  1854.  Early  in  the  fifth  century  the  coun- 
try was  divided  between  the  Persians  and  the  Romans,  upon  the 
conclusion  of  a  truce  between  those  nations.  The  Romans  sup- 
ported Arsaces,  the  successor  of  the  regular  line  of  sovereigns,  as 
king  of  their  part.  Upon  the  death  of  Arsaces,  the  district  was  re- 
duced to  the  condition  of  a  subject  province.  Thirty  years  afterward 
the  Persians  substituted  a  provincial  governor  for  the  king  whom 
they  had  allowed  to  reign  over  their  part  of  the  territory,  and  the 
kingdom  of  Armenia  was  extinguished  after  having  enjoyed  a  pre- 
carious existence  of  more  than  five  hundred  and  sixty  years,  during  the 
most  of  which  time  it  had  been  a  coveted  object  of  contention  be- 
tween the  two  great  rival  powers  of  the  world.  In  the  eleventh 
century  Armenia,  sharing  the  fate  of  Persia  and  the  Asiatic  posses- 
sions of  the  Eastern  Empire,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Turks.  The 
western  part  has  remained  bound  with  Turkey;  the  eastern  part 
formed  a  portion  of  the  new  Persian  Empire  till  1828,  when  all  of 
the  Persian  territory  north  of  the  Araxes  was  ceded  to  Russia. 

The  countiy  is  extremely  rugged,  being  crossed  by  nearly  parallel 
mountain  chains  rising  to  from  8,000  to  12,000  or  more  feet  in 
height.  The  mountains  contain  difficult  passes  through  which  are 
carried  the  few  roads  which  the  nature  of  the  country  allows  to  be 
constructed,  and  of  which  the  capacities  for  defense  make  them 


THE  R  U SSI  AN  AD  VANCE  IN  ARMENIA.  257 

dreaded  by  an  invading  force.  The  valleys  are  watered  by  the  source 
of  rivers  which  find  their  way  into  the  Persian  Gulf  and  the  Black 
and  Caspian  Seas,  and  afford  a  soil  which  admits  of  excellent  culti- 
vation, extending  often  to  a  considerable  height  up  the  mountain. 
They  are  also  the  sites  of  numerous  towns,  many  of  which  are  quite 
important  and  flourishing.  The  climate  is  one  of  extremes.  The 
winters,  owing  to  the  height  of  the  mountains,  are  long  and  severe, 
while  the  heat  during  the  short  summer  in  many  places  rises  to  a 
point  exceeding  any  temperature  that  is  experienced  in  the  United 
States.  The  snow,  even  in  the  southern  parts  of  the  district,  re- 
mains on  the  mountain  tops  till  July  or  August.  The  backward- 
ness of  the  spring  occasioned  by  the  protracted  stay  of  the  large 
snow-masses,  makes  extensive  military  operations  impracticable  till 
late  in  the  season.  The  earlier  Russian  campaign  of  1877  was 
further  impeded  by  unusually  heavy  masses  of  snow  and  severe  rains, 
which  made  most  of  the  roads  nearly  impassable.  Then,  when  the 
summer  comes,  the  heat  and  drought  are  so  extreme  as  to  weaken  the 
strength  of  men  not  accustomed  to  the  climate,  and  seriously  im- 
pair the  force  of  the  army. 

The  headquarters  of  the  Russian  operations  were  at  Tiflis,  the 
capital  of  the  province  of  Georgia,  the  political  and  military  center 
of  Transcaucasian  Russia.  This  city  is  in  communication  with 
European  Russia  by  means  of  a  military  road  leading  to  the  pass  of 
Yladikavkas,  about  ninety  miles  north  in  the  Caucasus  Mountains, 
whence  a  connection  exists  by  a  railroad  five  hundred  miles  in 
length  to  Rostov  on  the  river  Don.  This  road  might  be  entirely 
closed  by  an  enemy  at  the  pass  of  Vladikavkas,  or  Dariel,  a  magnifi- 
cent gorge,  which  is  described  as  resembling  in  some  of  its  feat- 
ures the  Yosernite  Valley  of  California,  over  which  the  road  passes 
at  a  height  of  eight  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  Another  road  ex- 
tends from  Tiflis  north-westwardly  to  Kutais  in  the  Rion  Valley,  and 
along  the  coast  by  Sukhum-Kaleh  to  Anapa  Kertch.  The  road  be- 
tween Tiflis  and  Kutais  is  a  railway,  which  is  continued  to  Poti,  on 
the  sea.  This  route,  although  it  is  well  guarded,  was  impracticable 
in  the  present  war,  because  it  reaches  no  good  harbors,  and  is  ex- 
posed to  the  attacks  of  the  Turkish  fleets  which  have  command  of 
the  eastern  waters  of  the  Black  Sea,  in  such  landing-places  as  are 
accessible  to  it,  and  because  the  region  through  which  it  passes  is  in- 
habited by  the  untrustworthy  tribe  of  the  Abkhasians. 

Russian  operations  were  attended  with  disadvantage,  growing  out 


258  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

of  the  superior  marine  facilities  enjoyed  by  the  Turks.  Aside  from 
their  possessing  a  large  excess  of  naval  force  over  the  Russians,  the 
only  good  port  near  the  theater  of  war — Batuin — was  in  their  hands 
Its  harbor  affords  a  secure  anchorage  for  vessels  of  any  draught  of 
water ;  it  can  be  reached  by  two  routes  from  Tiflis,  and  would  afford 
an  easy  route  of  communication  by  the  valley  of  the  Tchoruk  River 
with  the  Russian  posts  in  Turkish  Armenia.  Of  the  two  posts  be- 
longing to  Russia,  Poti,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rion  River,  is  inaccessi- 
ble to  large  vessels,  and  Sukhum-Kaleh,  further  north,  is  extremely 
unhealthy,  and  is  cut  off  from  the  interior  by  hills  and  numerous 
streams.  Hence  the  Russians  attached  importance  to  their  opera-' 
tions  against  Batum,  which  were  directed  not  more  to  capturing  it 
for  themselves  than  to  preventing  the  Turks  from  using  it  to  their 
annoyance. 

Batum  should  have  already  belonged  to  Russia  instead  of  to 
Turkey,  and  would  have  been  given  to  it  at  the  peace  of  Adrianople 
in  1828,  but  for  a  blunder  of  a  clerk  which  has  hardly  a  parallel  in 
history.  It  was  arranged  in  the  preliminaries  to  the  treaty  that  the 
Tchoruk  River  should  be  made  the  boundary  between  the  two  coun- 
tries, and  Batum  thus  be  thrown  into  Russia ;  but  the  clerk  who 
made  the  final  draft  of  the  treaty,  by  the  mistake  of  a  single  letter, 
named  the  Tcholuk  River,  an  insignificant  stream,  instead,  and  thus 
threw  the  boundary7  several  miles  north-west  of  Batum.  When  the 
error  was  discovered,  it  was  too  late  to  correct  it. 

The  Turkish  territory  was  defended  by  a  system  of  four  strong 
fortress  towns,  so  arranged  as  to  form  what  military  writers  call  a 
quadrilateral.  These  were,  Batum,  already  mentioned ;  Trebizond, 
an  important  port  on  the  Black  Sea,  about  100  miles  west  of  Batum  ; 
Kars,  which  is  near  the  Russian  boundary,  facing  the  great  Russian 
fortress  at  Alexandropol ;  and  Erzerum,  the  capital  of  the  province. 
The  space  included  between  these  forts  gave  room  for  the  operations 
of  a  large  army  of  defense,  while  of  the  two  eastern  forts,  which 
the  Russians  would  have  to  carry,  one,  Kars,  was  counted  as  among 
the  strongest  fortresses  in  the  world,  and  the  other,  Batum,  proved 
capable  of  resisting  the  strongest  attacks  which  the  Russians  could 
make  upon  it  during  the  whole  summer  of  1877.  The  other  out- 
lying forts,  Ardahan  and  Bayazid,  were  considered  as  subsidiary  to 
the  greater  forts,  and  of  inferior  importance.  Ardahan  was  con- 
sidered a  work  of  superior  strength,  while  Bayazid  was  so  weak  that 
it  yielded  readily  to  every  serious  attack  that  was  made  upon  it. 


THE    GRAND    DUKE    MICHAEL. 


CITADEL    OF    TIFLIS. 


THE    DEFILE    OF    DARIEL    IX    ARMENIA. 


THE  R  U SSI  AN  AD  VANCE  IN  ARMENIA.  26 1 

The  Russian  plan  of  campaign  contemplated  a  simultaneous  move- 
ment toward  Erzerum,  by  three  columns  moving  from  near  the 
northern  and  southern  extremities  and  the  center  of  the  boundary- 
line  between  Russia  and  Turkey,  while  a  fourth  auxiliary  column, 
under  General  Oklobjio,  was  stationed  in  the  valley  of  the  Rion  River 
to  watch  Batum  and  co-operate  in  the  movements  which  were  to 
be  undertaken  against  that  port. 

The  force  with  which  the  operations  were  begun  consisted  of 
seven  divisions  of  infantry,  which  had  not  yet  been  organized  as  a 
corps,  but  were  banded  together  as  the  army  of  the  Caucasus.  It 
numbered,  including  the  battalions  which  had  to  be  left  to  keep 
watch  over  the  native  population  of  the  Caucasus,  180,000  infantry 
and  45,000  cavalry  ;  or,  deducting  these  detachments,  about  140,000 
infantry  and  riflemen  with  their  artillery,  12,000  cavalry,  and  372 
field-guns  available  for  offensive  operations.  The  force  was 
strengthened  by  the  levy  of  irregular  mounted  troops  among  the 
Caucasians,  and  by  the  addition  of  the  Caucasian  siege-batteries,  with 
several  battalions  of  artillery  from  the  fortresses.  The  whole  was 
under  the  command  of  the  Grand  Duke  Michael,  Governor  of  the 
Caucasus.  The  direction  of  the  advance  and  operations  in  the  field 
was  intrusted  to  General  Loris  MelikofL  The  center,  under  the 
personal  command  of  General  Melikoff,  was  posted  at  the  fortress 
of  Alexandropol  (called  Gumri  by  the  Turks),  close  upon  the  border, 
about  one  hundred  miles  south-west,  or  one  hundred  and  forty-four 
miles  by  road  from  Tiflis,  with  which  city  it  is  connected  by  tele- 
graph. It  consisted  of  the  Caucasian  Grenadiers  and  the  Thirty- 
ninth  division  of  infantry,  the  Caucasian  dragoons,  and  the  Terek 
Cossack  division  of  four  regiments  and  two  mounted  batteries,  with 
volunteer  cavalry,  and  numbered  about  45,000  men. 

The  right  wing,  under  the  command  of  General  Dewell,  was 
stationed  at  the  fortress  of  Akhalzikh,  also  near  the  boundary,  about 
156  miles  north-west  of  Alexandropol,  toward  the  Black  Sea,  about 
100  miles  due  west,  and  119  miles  by  road  from  Tiflis.  A  support- 
ing and  connecting  detachment  was  placed  at  Fort  Akhalkalaki,. 
about  half  way  between  Akhalzikh  and  Alexandropol. 

The  left  wing,  called  also  the  Erivan  column,  consisting  of  the 
Thirty-eighth  division  of  infantry,  with  cavalry,  under  the  command 
of  General  Tergnkassoff,  was  assembled  in  front  of  the  city  of 
Erivan,  which  lies  in  the  mountains  south-east  of  Alexandropol,  and. 
about  150  miles  south-west  of  Tiflis. 
14 


262  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST, 

The  three  columns  presented  a  front  of  nearly  220  miles,  facing 
the  boundary-line,  and  were  separated  from  each  other  by  distances 
of  about  sixty-two  miles  and  156  miles  respectively  as  well  as  by 
high  mountains. 

The  Turkish  line  of  defense  covered  the  whole  frontier  from  Baya- 
zid  to  the  Black  Sea,  but  was  removed  some  miles  back  from  it.  It 
extended  from  the  port  of  Batum,  on  the  Black  Sea,  to  Ardahan, 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  river  Kur,  thence  southward  to  Kars,  after 
which  it  bent  around,  following  the  frontier  to  Bayazid.  It  de- 
pended, for  its  natural  bulwark,  upon  the  confused  mass  of  rocky 
mountains  with  which  the  country  is  occupied.  The  second  line  of 
defense  passed  through  Trebizond,  on  the  Black  Sea,  Erzerum,  and 
Yan,  but  the  troops  destined  to  protect  it  were  nearly  all  concen- 
trated at  Erzerum,  so  that  they  might  be  rapidly  directed  against  the 
advancing  Russians,  should  they  break  through  the  first  lines. 

The  Turks  had  to  occupy  these  lines  and  oppose  the  Russian  ad- 
vance, a  force  which  was  estimated  at  about  70,000  men,  with  200 
pieces  of  field-artillery.  Of  this  force  about  18,000  men  were 
stationed  at  Kars  and  in  front  of  that  city ;  7,000  men  were  stationed 
on  the  road  from  Erzerum  to  Bayazid ;  about  8,000  men  were  near 
Ardahan,  on  the  road  from  Erzerum  to  Akhalzikh ;  about  20,000 
men  were  at  Batum,  and  about  the  same  number  were  around 
Erzerum.  The  whole  force  was  under  the  command  of  Ahmed 
Mukhtar  Pasha.  * 

Of  the  routes  to  be  followed  by  the  three  advancing  columns  of 
the  Russians,  the  shortest  and  least  difficult  was  that  given  to  the 
center.  On  the  other  hand,  the  advance  might  expect  to  encounter 
the  mass  of  the  Turkish  army  on  this  road,  and  to  have  its  progress 
impeded  also  by  the  interposition  of  the  important  and  remarkably 
strong  fortress  of  Kars.  The  nature  of  the  valley  of  Kars  is,  how- 
ever, such  as  to  permit  an  army  to  go  around  that  fortress  on  either 
side,  pressing  forward,  as  the  Russians  actually  did.  Beyond  Kars 
another  obstacle  presented  itself  in  the  range  of  the  Soghanli 
Dagh,  a  line  of  hills  rising  about  fourteen  hundred  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  surrounding  country,  and  nearly  eight  thousand  feet 
above  the  sea,  and  stretching  obliquely  for  a  distance  of  thirty-seven 
miles  between  Kars  and  Erzerum.  The  two  passes  over  this  range 
are  capable  of  an  energetic  and  obstinate  defense,  and  are  seldom 
free  from  snow  before  the  middle  of  July. 

The  route  of  the  right  wing  from  Akhalzikh  by  way  of  Ardahan 


THE  R  U SSI  AN  AD  VANCE  IN  ARMENIA.  263 

and  Olti  to  Erzerum,  is  a  little  longer  (188  miles)  than  that  followed 
by  the  center,  and  presents  but  little  difficulty  till  the  fortified  city 
of  Ardahan  is  reached.  From  this  point  the  road  to  Erzerum  is 
more  difficult,  but  that  to  Kars  is  comparatively  easy. 

The  third  line  of  march,  that  pursued  by  the  left  wing,  was  the 
longest  of  the  three.  The  principal  obstacles  to  be  apprehended 
were  the  citadel  of  Bayazid,  which  proved  to  be  easily  overcome, 
and  the  passes  of  the  mountains  between  the  Upper  Euphrates  and 
the  A  raxes,  among  which  the  first  campaign,  as  it  proved,  was  des- 
tined to  receive  its  fatal  blow.  The  road  from  Bayazid  to  Erzerum 
is  a  part  of  the  great  caravan  road  upon  which  the  trade  between 
Trebizond  and  Persia  is  conducted,  and  is  one  of  the  most  important 
roads  in  the  East. 

The  forward  movement  was  begun  by  the  three  columns  simulta- 
neously, on  the  24th  of  April.  The  center  pressed  forward  directly 
toward  Kars,  thirty-eight  miles  from  its  starting-point  at  Alexandro- 
pol,  with  the  purpose  of  investing  that  fortress  and  then  advancing 
toward  Erzerum,  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles  further  south- 
west. The  two  wings  were  expected  to  assist  in  this  movement,  the 
right  wing  by  disabling  the  fortress  of  Ardahan,  and  then  by  a  flank 
movement  from  the  north  against  the  Turkish  force  opposed  to  the 
center,  supporting  that  column  in  its  effort  to  cross  the  Soghanli 
Dagh,  the  mountain  range  lying  between  Kars  and  Erzerum ; 
while  the  left  wing  was  to  march  from  Erivan  southward  to  Baya- 
zid, and  having  carried  that  point,  to  turn  toward  the  north-west 
and  force  its  way  to  Erzerum. 

Erzerum,  the  objective  point  of  the  campaign,  is  the  capital  of  the 
province  of  the  same  name,  and  is  the  most  important  road-station 
in  Turkish  Armenia.  It  has  a  population  variously  estimated  at  be- 
tween thirty  thousand  and  fifty  thousand ;  is  situated  in  a  mountain- 
ous country,  on  a  plateau  some  seven  thousand  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea,  at  the  point  where  all  the  roads  from  Constantinople  to 
the  east  converge,  and  whence  they  again  diverge  as  they  continue 
their  way  eastward.  It  is,  therefore,  a  town  of  considerable  commer- 
cial importance.  It  is  estimated  that  at  least  $1,500,000  worth  of 
English  goods  find  their  way  to  this  place  every  year.  The  city  is 
described  by  travelers  as  presenting  a  beautiful  and  imposing  ap- 
pearance at  a  distance,  but  being  squalid  and  filthy  within.  It  is  a 
prominent  missionary  station  of  the  American  Board.  The  old  for- 
tifications of  Erzerum  had  been  allowed  to  fall  into  decay  till  they 


264  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

had  become  substantially  of  no  worth,  but  they  had  been  renewed 
previous  to  the  beginning  of  the  Russian  operations,  so  that  at  this 
time  they  made  the  town  one  of  the  most  formidable  positions  in 
the  whole  Empire,  and  competent  to  resist  a  long  attack  before  it 
could  be  forced  to  surrender. 

The  central  column  on  the  28th  of  April  reached  Zaim,  a  village 
in  the  valley  of  the  Kars  Tchai,  without  having  met  any  serious 
opposition.  A  reconnoitering  force  was  sent  forward  under  Major- 
General  Prince  Tchavtchavadze,  which  went  around  both  sides  of 
the  fortifications  of  Kars  and  destroyed  several  miles  of  the  telegraph 
line  to  Erzerum.  On  the  next  day  the  detachment  encountered  a 
column  of  eight  Turkish  battalions,  and  on  the  following  day  had 
another  skirmish  at  Yisinkoi,  south-east  of  the  fortifications  of  Kars. 
It  was  joined  at  that  point  by  a  division  of  Caucasian  Grenadiers, 
which  Gen.  Melikoff  in  person  had  led  up  to  its  support  by  the  way 
of  Chaliph  Oglu.  Gen.  Melikoff  opened  fire  from  his  batteries  upon 
the  Turkish  detachment  which  had  taken  up  a  position  under  cover 
of  the  advanced  works  of  Kars,  and  disabled  one  of  the  enemy's 
guns.  He  returned  on  the  1st  of  May  to  his  camp  at  Zaim,  having 
lost  during  the  artillery  engagement  one  man  killed  and  five 
wounded,  and  carrying  with  him  more  than  one  hundred  prisoners. 
The  enemy,  leaving  a  strong  garrison  at  Kars,  retired  to  Bardess  in 
the  direction  of  Erzerum,  in  a  position  where  they  could  hold  the 
passes  of  the  Soghanli  Dagh. 

Gen.  Tergukassoff,  with  the  left  wing,  appeared  before  Bayazid  on 
the  morning  of  the  30th  of  April.  The  town,  which  was  deficiently 
fortified,  was  occupied  by  only  about  thirteen  hundred  male  inhabit- 
ants, with  a  garrison  of  seventeen  hundred  soldiers,  who,  upon  the 
approach  of  the  Russian  advance  guard,  fell  back  into  the  Ala  Dagh 
Mountains,  leaving  behind  a  considerable  supply  of  munitions.  The 
town  and  citadel  were  occupied  by  the  Russians.  A  scouting  party, 
under  Count  Grabbe,  was  despatched  from  Culpi  on  the  Araxes  to 
Kagisman,  where  that  river  is  crossed  by  the  road  leading  from  Kara 
Kilissa  to  Kars,  and  there  meeting,  on  the  6th  of  May,  a  regiment  of 
dragoons  sent  down  from  Kars  by  Gen.  Melikoff,  opened  a  communi- 
cation with  the  center.  . 

A  tentative  attack  was  made  upon  the  works  of  Kars  on  the  3d  of 
May,  which  wras  repulsed  by  the  Turks.  The  Russians  had,  how- 
ever, decided  that  it  would  not  be  necessary  for  them  to  delay  to 
capture  this  place,  but  that  the  purpose  of  neutralizing  its  efficiency 


THE  RUSSIAN  AD  VANCE  IN  ARMENIA.  265 

as  an  obstacle  to  their  advance  could  be  gained  by  leaving  behind  a 
part  of  their  force  to  invest  it  and  subject  it  to  a  continued  bom- 
bardment, while  the  rest  of  the  column  pushed  forward. 

Kars  is  a  city  of  about  twelve  thousand  inhabitants,  lying  in  a 
bend  of  the  Kars-Tchai  or  Kars  River,  which  running  to  the  north 
here,  afterward  turns  to  the  north-east,  then  to  the  east,  and  finally 
to  the  south  east,  taking  a  nearly  semicircular  form,  and  empties  into 
the  Arpa  Tchai  at  the  boundary  between  Turkey  and  Russia.  The 
city  is  surrounded  with  a  double-walled  line  of  fortifications, "with 
five  bastions.  A  citadel  of  stone  several  stories  high,  and  accessible 
only  from  the  city,  stands  upon  a  hill  overlooking  the  town.  The 
citadel  is  connected  with  the  river  by  an  underground  passage  of 
three  hundred  steps.  In  addition  to  this,  the  position  is  guarded  by 
nine  other  forts,  with  casemates  and  bomb-proofs,  which  are  con- 
nected with  each  other  by  intermediate  redoubts.  One  of  these 
forts,  which  stands  north-west  of  the  city,  on  a  steep  bald  summit, 
contained  most  of  the  provisions  and  ammunition  stores,  and  over- 
looks all  the  surrounding  buildings.  Still  higher  are  the  forts  Kara 
Dagh  Tabia  and  Arab  Tabia,  standing  on  the  Kara  Dagh  (Black 
Mountain),  east  of  Kars,  and  supported  by  redoubts,  which  were  re- 
garded by  Hussein  Avni  Pasha  as  the  most  formidable  obstacles  to 
the  advance  of  the  Russians  in  Asiatic  Turkey,  and  are  the  actual 
key  to  the  place.  A  line  of  forts  or  redoubts  begins  opposite  the 
Kara  Dagh  across  the  river,  and  runs  south-westwardly  to  opposite 
the  citadel,  including  the  forts  Teesdale,  Thompson,  Zohrab,  Church- 
hill,  and  Lake,  the  whole  system  being  known  as  the  Ingliz  Tabias, 
or  the  English  forts.  Of  these,  Fort  Lake  is  the  strongest,  and 
shares  with  Kara  Dagh  the  importance  of  a  key  to  the  position. 
Nineteen  hundred  yards  west  of  Fort  Lake  are  the  heights  of  Tah- 
masp,  also  supplied  with  a  line  of  forts,  which  command  Fort  Lake 
with  heavy  guns.  The  Turkish  army  occupied  an  intrenched  camp 
south-east  of  the  city,  protected  at  the  extreme  east  by  Fort  Hafiz 
Pasha,  facing  the  Kara  Dagh  forts  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road 
to  Alexandropol. 

According  to  the  local  traditions,  Kars  was  a  city  of  some  impor- 
tance and  the  capital  of  a  province  during  the  reign  of  Tiridates,  King 
of  Armenia  A.D.  259.  The  citadel  was  built  by  the  Sultan  Mu- 
rad  III.,  of  Turkey,  in  1580,  and  was  used  by  him  in  the  wars  with 
Persia,  which  resulted  in  the  acquisition  ten  years  later  of  Georgia 
and  Tabriz.  It  was  subjected  to  a  f ormidable,  but  unsuccessful  attack 


266  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

by  Nadir,  Shah  of  Persia  in  1795.  The  remains  of  the  Shah's  en- 
campment, which  is  said  to  have  contained  ninety  thousand  men,  are 
still  pointed  out.  The  fortress  was  besieged  by  the  Russians  in  1807, 
when  it  withstood  three  successive  attacks,  but  was  taken  by  storm 
by  the  Russians  in  1828.  to  be  given  up  again  two  years  afterward 
on  the  conclusion  of  the  peace  of  Adrianople. 

The  town  was  captured  a  second  time  by  the  Russians  during  the 
Crimean  war — in  November,  1854,  after  a  siege  of  more  than  five 
months,  in  which  the  garrison,  led  by  Gen.  Williams,  of  the  British 
army,  made  one  of  the  most  desperate  and  brilliant  defenses  recorded 
in  history.  Even  then,  the  fortifications  proved  superior  to  all  the 
efforts  of  the  Russians  to  reduce  them  by  force,  and  the  surrender 
of  the  place  was  induced  only  by  the  complete  exhaustion  of  its  stores 
and  the  starvation  of  its  defenders.  The  city  was  restored  to  the 
Turks  upon  the  conclusion  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris.  A  large  part  of 
the  fortifications  which  have  made  the  position  so  formidable  were 
constructed  by  the  English  engineers  at  this  time,  hence  the  name 
"  Ingliz,"  or  English,  which  is  applied  to  some  of  the  forts. 

Kars  is  less  than  thirty  miles  distant  from  Alexandropol,  and  its 
minarets  are  visible  from  that  place.  The  little  semicircle  of  coun- 
try included  in  the  bend  of  the  Kars  Tchai  and  Arpa  Tchai  Rivers, 
which  has  for  its  diameter  the  line  extending  from  Kars  to  Ani,  de- 
serves a  special  study.  It  includes  the  greater  number  of  the  points 
which  were  covered  by  the  operations  of  Gen.  Melikoff's  center,  be- 
tween the  time  of  the  capture  of  Ardahan,  May  17th,  and  the  battle 
of  the  Aladja  Dagh,  October  15th,  and  which  will  be  often  men- 
tioned in  the  course  of  this  history.  A  clear  understanding  of  their 
relative  positions  will  contribute  much  to  the  comprehension  of  the 
different  movements,  particularly  of  the  autumnal  campaign. 

A  reconnoitering  force  of  Russians  under  Major-General  Shere- 
metieff  was  intercepted  by  a  body  of  Turkish  cavalry  in  the  Valley 
of  Bardyk,  on  the  8th  of  May,  and  obliged  to  cut  its  way  through. 
Shortly  after  this,  the  Russian  reconnoissances  were  extended  to 
Kizil  Kilissa,  more  than  half-way  from  Kars  to  the  Turkish  position 
at  Bardess.  A  hand-to-hand  fight  took  place  on  the  16th  of  May 
between  a  Russian  detachment  under  Major-General  Komaroff  and 
a  force  of  one  thousand  Turkish  dragoons,  in  which  the  Turks  were 
repulsed,  leaving  sixty-four  dead  on  the  field,  the  Russians  losing 
twenty-one  killed  and  fifty- nine  wounded. 

General  Melikoff,  leaving  General    Komaroff  with  a  corps    of 


THE  R  U SSI  AN  AD  VANCE  IN  ARMENIA.  267 

observation  before  Kars,  had  marched  on  the  12th  of  May  with  the 
major  part  of  his  force  to  the  support  of  General  Dewell  and  the 
right  wing  in  the  operations  against  Ardahan,  taking  a  position  at 
Tchevorhan,  nine  miles  south-east  of  the  fortress.  General  Dewell 
had  already  attended  to  the  erection  of  batteries  for  the  attack,  a 
work  of  no  easy  character,  for  the  heights  on  which  they  had  to  be 
placed  were  all  commanded  by  the  guns  of  the  Turkish  forts. 
General  MelikofE,  having  built  a  bridge  across  the  river  Kur  during 
the  night  between  the  15th  and  16th,  opened  fire  upon  the  fortifica- 
tions, the  result  of  which  was  that  all  the  Turkish  guns  were  dis- 
mounted, their  barracks  were  destroyed,  and  two  of  their  outworks 
were  captured.  On  the  next  day,  May  17th,  the  fortress  and  town 
were  captured  by  assault.  General  Melikoff,  in  his  dispatch  to  the 
Grand  Duke  Michael,  describing  the  character  and  extent  of  his 
victory,  said :  "  The  outworks  of  Ardahan,  its  fortifications,  citadel, 
sixty  guns,  immense  stores  of  provisions  and  ammunition,  and  the 
camp  formerly  occupied  by  fourteen  lines  of  Turks,  lie  at  the  feet 
of  the  Czar.  On  May  17th  the  admirable  fire  of  the  artillery  be- 
tween three  and  six  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  made  a  breach  in  the 
walls.  At  six  o'clock  the  Erivan,  Tiflis,  and  Baku  regiments 
and  the  sappers  advanced  to  the  assault.  The  enemy  could  not 
withstand  the  onslaught  and  fled,  leaving  a  great  number  dead.  At 
nine  o'clock  our  troops  traversed  the  whole  town  and  fortifications, 
the  band  playing  the  National  Anthem." 

The  Russians  reported  their  loss  to  be  fifty-one  killed  and  one 
hundred  and  eighty-four  wounded.  The  loss  of  the  Turks  must 
have  been  very  severe,  as  the  Russian  commander  at  Ardahan 
reported  on  the  21st  of  May  that  he  had  buried  1,184  men  and  was 
not  yet  done.  The  inhabitants  of  the  town  placed  it  at  3,000  men. 
The  Turks,  who  numbered  10,000  men,  retreated  in  different  direc- 
tions, a  part  of  the  garrison  going  toward  Ardanutch,  on  the 
Tchoruk  River,  on  the  road  to  Batum,  and  a  part  toward  Olti,  on 
the  road  to  Erzerum. 

Hassan  Sabri  Pasha,  the  Turkish  commander  at  Ardahan,  was. 
accused  of  having  sold  the  place  to  the  Russians  for  the  sum  of 
thirty  thousand  pounds  sterling,  and  was  arrested  and  held  to  trial.. 
The  case  was  referred,  with  a  number  of  others,  to  a  court  martial., 
which  met  at  Constantinople  on  the  25th  of  August. 

The  capture  of  Ardahan  was  attended  with  important  advantages, 
to  the  Russians.  With  it  the  Turks  lost  their  only  fortress  on  the 


268  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

river  Kur,  and  one  of  the  essential  links  in  the  line  of  communica- 
tion between  their  positions  among  the  head-waters  of  the  Kur 
and  their  coast-depot  at  Batum.  Only  through  Ardahan  could 
an  expedition  from  Batum  reach  the  flank  of  the  Russian  columns 
advancing  toward  Erzerum.  Since  it  had  become  a  Russian  fort, 
and  the  only  crossing  of  the  Kur  was  in  Russian  hands,  the  im- 
munity of  the  north  flank  of  their  columns  was  assured ;  so  that 
they  would  be  able  to  employ  more  troops  in  the  field,  for  a  much 
smaller  force  would  be  needed  to  garrison  the  place  than  to  besiege 
it.  It  gave  them,  moreover,  a  fortified  point  of  support  for  the 
continued  advance  of  their  right  wing  toward  Erzerum,  besides 
furnishing  them  with  a  considerable  number  of  guns,  which  the 
Turks  had  left  in  the  works,  available  for  siege  operations  against 
Kars. 

The  purpose  for  which  General  Dewell's  command  had  been 
organized  as  a  separate  column  of  the  army  of  invasion  was  accom- 
plished by  the  capture  of  Ardahan.  Its  union  with  General 
Melikoff's  center  was  the  logical  and  necessary  consequence  of  that 
success.  The  union  having  been  completed,  the  operations  against 
Erzerum  were  resumed  by  the  combined  force.  General  Melikoff 
returned  to  his  headquarters  at  Zaim,  where  he  was  joined  by 
General  Dewell  with  the  columns  of  the  former  right  wing,  while 
Ardahan  and  its  environs  were  held  by  Major-General  Komaroff . 
A  detachment  of  General  Dewell's  force  was  sent  in  pursuit  of  the 
Turkish  troops  which  had  retreated  on  the  road  to  Batum,  and  went 
as  far  as  Ardanutch,  where  they  found  the  enemy  lying  in  their 
front  at  Artvin.  A  body  of  cavalry,  which  was  despatched  upon 
the  road  to  Erzerum,  reached  the  neighborhood  of  Olti,  about  half 
way  to  the  capital,  without  meeting  resistance,  but  found  that  the 
enemy  held  that  place.  A  sortie  was  made  from  the  garrison  of 
Kars  on  the  25th  of  May,  which  resulted  in  an  engagement  at 
Magardshich,  with  the  Cossack  division  under  General  Melikoff. 
A  part  of  the  Cossacks  dismounted  and  fought  well  on  foot.  The 
Turks  were  repulsed,  leaving  forty  dead  on  the  field,  while  the  Rus- 
sians lost  only  one  man  killed  and  six  wounded. 

On  the  29th  of  May,  General  Melikoff,  in  making  his  final  ar- 
rangements for  the  investment  of  Kars,  arrived  at  Hadji  Kalil, 
nine  miles  south-east  of  the  city.  Here  he  learned  that  a  body  of 
four  thousand  Circassian  cavalry,  under  Moussa  Pasha,  had  come 
down  the  Soghanli  and  had  encamped  at  Beg  Mahmed,  about  nine 


THE  RUSSIAN  ADVANCE  IN  ARMENIA. 


271 


miles  south-west  of  Kars.  A  surprise  was  planned  against  them,  to 
be  executed  during  the  night.  A  division  of  cavalry,  a  regiment  of 
foot,  and  sixteen  guns  were  sent  forward  under  Prince  Tchavtchavadzo 
to  Ardost  The  enemy  was  attacked  in  his  bivouac  from  three 
sides  soon  after  midnight,  and  after  a  long  conflict  was  put  to  flight. 
The  Russians  lost  seven  killed  and  thirty  wounded,  while  the  Cir- 
cassians left  on  the  field  eighty-three  dead  and  several  trophies — 
guns,  ammunition  wagons,  and  standards — which  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Russians.  This  victory  was  regarded  by  the  Russians  as  of 
considerable  importance,  inasmuch  as  it  was  a  decisive  repulse  of 
the  first  offensive  efforts  of  the  Turks,  and  in  effect  destroyed  the 
best  part  of  the  Turkish  cavalry,  which  was  already  dispropor- 
tionately weak.  The  Turks  reported  that  the  whole  force  was 
slaughtered,  but  this  was  an  exaggeration,  as  most  of  the  horsemen 
escaped.  But  it  was  not  entirely  false,  for  the  body  was  really 
destroyed  as  a  soldiery.  According  to  subsequent  reports  from 
Erzerum,  very  few  of  the  men  returned  to  service,  by  far  the 
greater  part  of  them  being  scattered  in  flight  or  going  back  to  their 
homes.  Olti  was  occupied  without  resistance  on  the  8th  of  June. 

On  the  8th  of  May  Lieutenant-General  Tergukassoff,  with  the 
left  wing  of  the  Russian  army  of  advance,  or  the  Erivari  column,  as 
it  was  called,  occupied  Diadin,  a  town  of  seven  thousand  male  in- 
habitants, mostly  Mohammedan  Kurds,  about  sixty  miles  west  of 
Bayazid,  and  on  the  llth  he  reached  the  Armenian  cloister  of  Surp 
Ohanes,  or  St.  Johannes,  where  he  established  a  station  of  sup- 
plies and  of  support  for  his  advance,  which  was  sent  out  toward 
Kara  Kilissa,  at  the  crossing  of  the  eastern  branch  of  the  Euphrates 
by  the  caravan  road.  A  number  of  guerrilla  bands  of  Kurds  and 
Bashi-Bazouks  had  been  assembled  at  Lake  Van  to  harass  the  rear 
and  flanks  of  the  Russian  force,  and  an  expedition  of  cavalry  was 
dispatched  to  suppress  them.  Tt  penetrated  to  the  lake  and  scat- 
tered the  bands,  one  of  the  divisions  having  encountered  a  band  at 
Ardish,  on  the  north  shore  of  the  lake  itself. 

On  the  4th  of  June  General  Tergukassoff  advanced  to  Kara 
Kilissa,  the  Turks  having  fallen  back  to  the  mountain-pass  of 
Toprak  Kaleh. '  On  the  10th,  he  occupied  Zeidekan,  about  eighty 
miles  east  of  Erzerum,  and  the  Turks  retired  to  Koprikoi,  about 
forty  miles  toward  Erzerum. 


CHAPTEK  IY. 

THE   RUSSIAN   REVERSE   IN   ARMENIA. 

The  Situation  in  Armenia  at  the  middle  of  June— Battle  of  Zcidekan— An  unexpected 
change  iu  the  Fortunes  of  War— Defeat  of  General  Tergukassoff  at  Delibaba  and  of 
General  Melikoff  at  Zewin— Retreat  of  the  Russians — General  Tergukassoff  reaches 
Igdir,  and  marches  to  the  relief  of  the  Russian  garrison  at  Bayazid — Horrible  condi- 
tion of  that  place — The  Siege  of  Ears  abandoned — The  Russians  again  in  Russian 
Territory. 

So  far  the  advance  of  the  Russians  had  been  attended  with  unin- 
terrupted success.  It  had  not  been  rapid,  for  it  had  been  impeded 
by  the  nature  of  the  country,  and  by  the  necessity  of  taking  or 
neutralizing  the  fortresses  of  Ardahan  and  Kars.  The  invading 
array,  moreover,  lacked  a  sufficiency  of  numbers  to  make  it  as  effi- 
cient as  it  should  be  in  marching  into  a  hostile  country.  A  consider- 
able part  of  the  force  had  to  be  detached  to  man  the  supporting 
posts  along  the  lines  of  communication,  to  garrison  Ardahan,  and 
to  maintain  the  investment  of  Kars,  leaving  the  body  which  was 
destined  to  operate  in  the  field  none  too  large  to  cope  with  the  Turk- 
ish army.  Nevertheless,  the  Russian  front  had  been  pushed  forward 
to  near  Kara  Kilissa  and  Olti,  beyond  Kars.  Cossack  scouts  had  pene- 
trated to  Ispir,  far  beyond  Olti  and  north-west  of  Erzerurn,  where 
their  presence  suggested  danger  to  the  communications  between 
Erzerum  and  its  supply-post  of  Trebizond,  and  the  Russian  lines  of 
communication  were  well  kept  up.  The  Turks  had  been  expected 
to  make  a  despSrate  defense  in  the  Soghanli  Dagh,  but  so  far  had 
steadily  retreated  as  the  Russians  moved  forward.  Their  line  had 
been  drawn  back  from  Ardahan,  Kars,  and  Bayazid,  to  Olti,  Zewin, 
and  Kara  Kilissa,  and  in  the  first  days  of  June  the  headquarters  of  the 
center  had  been  retired  to  Koprikoi,  about  forty  miles  east  of  Er- 
zerum, the  point  of  union  of  the  roads  leading  from  Kars  through 
the  Soghanli  with  the  caravan  road  from  Bayazid,  while  the  left 
wing  was  stationed  near  Kisil  Kilissa,  and  the  right  wing  occupied 
the  passes  of  Delibaba  and  Toprak  Kaleh  as  its  extreme  outposts. 
Military  critics  thought  that  a  speedy  collapse  of  the  Turkish  resist- 
ance was  assured,  and  it  was  generally  and  confidently  expected  that 
the  campaign  would  result  in  the  whole  of  Armenia  falling  into  the 


THE  R  U SSI  AN  RE  VERSE  IN  ARMENIA.  273 

hands  of  the  Russians.  The  Russians  anticipated  this  as  the  end  of 
their  advance,  for  they  went  prepared  to  organize  civil  administration 
in  the  conquered  territory,  and  had  actually  established  governments 
intended  to  be  permanent  in  the  districts  which  they  had  gained. 

Mukhtar  Pasha,  finding  that  the  Russians  were  not  in  great  force 
at  Olti,  pushed  forward  his  troops  against  their  position  there,  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  threaten  to  cut  off  the  advanced  guard  of  the 
right  wing  from  the  main  body.  The  Russians,  to  avoid  such  a  dis- 
aster, retreated  to  Pennek,  and  Olti  was  again  occupied  by  the 
Turks  on  the  9th  of  June.  The  Russians  concentrated  their  forces 
in  greater  strength  around  Kars,  and  the  bombardment  was  for  a 
few  days  conducted  with  extraordinary  vigor. 

Encouraged  by  his  success  at  Olti,  the  Turkish  Commander-in- 
chief  ordered  up  three  more  battalions  and  six  hundred  cavalry  to 
strengthen  Mohammed  Pasha  at  Delibaba,  and  ordered  Mohammed, 
with  seventeen  battalions,  two  field  batteries  and  one  mountain  bat- 
tery, to  drive  the  Russians  of  the  left  wing  out  of  Zeidekan.  These 
orders  were  carelessly  executed,  so  that  Mohammed  Pasha  reached  the 
place  of  attack  with  less  than  his  full  force,  to  find  the  Russians 
prepared  to  attack  him.  The  Russians  were  in  a  strong  position  on 
the  heights  of  Tahir,  above  Zeidekan,  having  between  them  and  the 
Turkish  front  a  high  ridge  completely  commanding  the  Turkish 
position,  which  was  skirted  by  a  deep  ravine.  This  ridge  and  ravine 
afforded  important  points  of  advantage,  the  possession  of  which 
proved  to  be  the  turning  point  of  the  engagement.  The  Turks 
could  have  occupied  them  at  the  beginning  of  the  battle,  but  Mo- 
hammed Pasha  was  convinced  that  the  Russians  were  in  small  force, 
and  neglected  to  improve  his  opportunities.  Artillery  skirmishes 
took  place  between  the  two  armies  on  the  15th  of  June.  The  attack 
was  opened  by  the  Russians  at  five  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  June 
16th,  with  a  fire  which  increased  in  vigor  and  accuracy  as  the  hours 
advanced,  and  which  was  received  by  the  Turkish  soldiers  with 
steadiness  and  replied  to  with  gallantry.  At  a  quarter  past  nine  the 
Russians,  notwithstanding  the  brave  resistance  of  the  Turks,  had  by 
their  overwhelming  force  of  artillery,  driven  the  Turkish  guns  out 
of  action.  By  noon  they  were  in  possession  of  the  ridge  held  by 
the  Ottoman  troops  and  of  every  gun  they  had,  had  turned  their 
position  and  got  around  to  their  rear,  and  the  Turkish  army  was 
routed.  The  Russians  followed  up  the  Turkish  infantry,  who  had 
exhausted  their  ammunition,  to  the  pass  of  Delibaba,  capturing 


274  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

about  one  thousand  prisoners,  while  another  body  of  cavalry,  with 
horse  artillery,  moving  around  by  another  road,  effectually  prevented 
all  communication  between  Mukhtar  Pasha  and  the  remnants  of  the 
right  wing,  and  captured  a  battalion  and  battery  of  Turks  which 
were  encamped  on  one  of  the  streams. 

The  arrangements  of  the  Turkish  forces  were,  according  to  the 
correspondent  of  the  London  Times,  faulty  in  the  extreme.  The 
army  was  suffering  from  an  insufficiency  of  rations  and  a  lack  of 
supplies ;  was  without  medical  staff  or  hospital  arrangements,  and 
was  scantily  furnished  with  ammunition.  The  officers  were  in- 
competent and  careless,  and  despised  the  enemy,  Mohammed  Pasha, 
it  is  said,  believing  that  the  Russians  would  not  dare  to  attack  him. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  same  correspondent  speaks  in  the  highest 
terms  of  the  bearing  of  the  Turkish  rank  and  file.  "  Untrained  men," 
he  says,  "  ignorant  of  the  use  of  their  weapons,  and  for  the  most 
part  agriculturists,  fresh  from  the  plough,  they  were  yet  unused  to 
the  hard  school  of  war.  Cold  and  hungry,  badly  clad  and  badly 
shod,  uncared-for  and  unnoticed,  they  stood  their  ground  right 
nobly  under  a  murderous  fire  from  the  sixteen  sixteen-pounder  Rus- 
sian guns  playing  on  their  front  under  a  hailstorm  of  rifle  bullets 
from  the  battalions  that  had  turned  their  flank,  and  it  was  not  until 
their  ammunition  had  failed,  and  the  Cossacks  were  riding  them 

down,  that  they  turned  and  broke The  rank  and  file  of  the 

Turkish  army  are  men  of  whom  any  nation  might  be  proud."  The 
Turkish  loss  is  not  stated.  It  was  very  heavy,  and  was  aggravated 
by  the  disorder  into  which  the  whole  line  was  thrown  on  its  flight. 

The  Turks  retreated  to  Delibaba,  and  the  Russians  took  posses- 
sion of  the  pass  through  which  they  had  retired,  and  fortified  it. 
Mukhtar  Pasha  telegraphed  to  Rashid  Pasha,  of  his  left  wing,  which 
was  occupying  the  Olti  road,  to  join  him  with  nine  of  the  twelve 
battalions  forming  that  wing.  He  quitted  his  headquarters  at  Zewin 
on  the  night  of  the  17th,  for  Delibaba,  to  take  command  of  the  right 
wing  in  Perun.  On  the  following  day  he  received  reinforcements 
by  the  arrival  of  Chalim  Pasha,  which  raised  the  strength  of  his 
force  to  nineteen  battalions,  four  cavalry  regiments,  and  three  bat- 
teries. The  Russians,  under  General  Tergukassoff,  in  the  Delibaba 
Pass,  who  had  been  reinforced  from  the  center,  numbered  20,000 
men,  with  five  batteries.  On  the  20th  the  Turks  began  to  move 
forward,  and  cavalry  skirmishing  between  the  outposts  took  place  at 
Khaliage,  near  the  entrance  to  the  pass.  On  the  21st,  Mukhtar 


THE  RUSSIAN  REVERSE  IN  ARMENIA.  2?$ 

Pasha  gave  battle  in  the  pass  itself.  The  attack  was  begun  at  six 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  the  fighting  lasted,  with  varying  for- 
tune, till  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  when  the  Turks  bivouacked 
in  positions  slightly  in  advance  of  those  held  by  them  on  the  previous 
day.  The  Turkish  commander  at  first  dislodged  the  Russians  from 
their  positions,  but  they  returned  and  drove  away  their  assailants. 
Several  charges  of  Russian  infantry  and  cavalry  followed,  by  which 
the  Turkish  front  was,  for  a  time,  staggered,  but  the  Turks  finally 
rallied,  and  compelled  the  Russians  to  fall  back  with  heavy  loss. 

The  correspondent  of  the  London  /Standard,  who  was  with  the 
Turkish  army,  gives  the  following  graphic  account  of  this  day's  en- 
gagement : 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  21st  of  June  the  battle  began  with  an 
artillery  fire  on  both  sides,  but  soon  Mukhtar  Pasha  proceeded  to 
the  attack.  The  battalions  from  Erzerum  and  Erzengan,  who 
counted  many  a  gray  head  among  their  ranks,  had  the  distinction 
granted  to  them  of  opening  the  attack.  "With  indescribable  heroism, 
though  scarcely  1,400  strong,  they  advanced  up  the  heights  occupied 
by  the  Russians.  Exposed  to  a  perfect  hailstorm  of  shells  and 
musketry  from  the  front  and  right  fiank  of  the  enemy,  they  suffered 
frightful  losses,  but  never  for  one  moment  wavered.  Soon,  how- 
ever, it  was  perceived  that  the  positions  of  the  Turkish  guns  were 
very  unfavorable  for  replying  to  the  Russian  cannon,  and  that  they 
afforded  a  very  insufficient  protection  against  the  enemy's  fire  directed 
toward  the  right  flank.  The  two  battalions  which  had  suffered  so 
severely  were,  therefore,  withdrawn,  while  Mukhtar  Pasha  himself 
sought  out  fresh  positions  for  the  guns  and  superintended  their 
transport.  A  brisk  attack  of  cavalry,  led  by  Shamyl  Pasha,  in  the 
valley  of  the  brook,  covered  the  movements  of  the  infantry  and 
artillery.  The  latter,  from  their  new  positions,  kept  up  a  more 
effective  fire  than  hitherto ;  they  soon  dismounted  a  Russian  gun 
and  covered  a  fresh  attack  of  the  infantry.  Yisibly  the  Turkish 
lines  advanced,  when  suddenly  the  Russians  rushed  down  from  their 
mountains  and  again  and  again  tried  to  storm  the  Turkish  position. 
One  after  the  other  their  attacks  were  repulsed ;  the  Turks  aimed 
splendidly,  and  the  ranks  of  the  storming  parties  were  rapidly 
thinned.  While  this  was  going  on,  the  cavalry  regiments  on  both 
sides  fought  with  varying  success.  At  length  night  put  an  end  to 
the  combat.  It  was  a  fearful  night.  The  number  of  the  wounded 
on  the  Turkish  side  was  very  great,  and  of  ambulances,  etc.,  there 


276  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

were  next  to  none.  An  icy  wind  swept  over  the  plateau  ;  the  men 
had  nothing  to  eat ;  for  many  miles  around  there  was  not  a  tree  or  a 
shrub  that  might  serve  as  fuel ;  and,  what  was  worst  of  all,  the  artil- 
lery, which  had,  it  is  true,  been  almost  constantly  at  work,  com- 
plained of  a  want  of  ammunition.  Not  without  anxiety  did  the 
Marshal,  as  he  told  me  himself  only  a  few  hours  ago,  look  forward 
to  the  morrow." 

The  battle  was  renewed  on  the  next  day  with  an  attack  by  Mukh- 
tar  Pasha  upon  the  Russians,  who  still  occupied  the  eastern  end  of 
the  pass.  The  Russians  replied  with  a  violent  attack,  which  was  re- 
pulsed with  great  difficulty;  but  the  battle  soon  turned  against 
them,  and  by  the  close  of  the  day  they  had  been  driven  from  their 
positions,  and  were  in  full  retreat.  The  Turks  pursued  them  as  far 
as  Zeidekan,  and  thus  regained  all  the  positions  which  they  had  lost 
in  the  battle  of  the  16th  at  that  place.  The  fighting  on  the  two 
days  lasted  thirty-three  hours,  and  cost  the  Turks  2,500  killed  and 
wounded,  and  the  Russians  a  much  larger  number.  According  to 
the  correspondent  of  the  London  Standard,  the  Turkish  force 
actually  participating  in  this  battle  numbered  only  six  thousand 
men. 

Gen.  Tergukassoff  telegraphed  respecting  this  engagement,  that  the 
Russian  column  under  his  command  "  was  attacked  on  the  21st  near 
Daiare  by  the  Turks  with  twenty  battalions,  twelve  guns,  and  4,500 
horse.  The  fighting  lasted  ten  hours,  and  the  Turks  were  eventually 
repulsed,  but  the  Russian  losses  were  very  considerable.  The  Russian 
troops  fought  on  a  line  of  five  versts  with  great  gallantry  against 
overwhelming  numbers.  The  Russian  artillery  was  admirably 
served.  On  the  following  day  some  skirmishes  occurred,  and 
subsequently  the  Turks  were  allowed  to  collect  the  corpses  of  the 
men  in  the  Russian  positions." 

Gen.  Heimann  was  despatched  from  the  center  to  support  Gen. 
Tergukassoff  and  effect  a  junction  with  him  if  that  were  practicable ; 
and  on  the  20th  of  June,  Gen.  Melikoff  left  his  camp  at  Mazra,  be- 
fore Kars,  to  follow  him.  The  intention  was  to  release  General 
Tergukassoff  from  his  embarrassing  position,  inflict  defeat  upon 
Mukhtar  Pasha,  and  advance  upon  Erzerum  if  possible.  General 
Melikoff  having  overtaken  Gen.  Heimann,  it  was  determined  to 
make  a  movement  of  the  cavalry  on  the  right  flank  of  the  enemy, 
while  the  infantry  should  push  along  to  Zewin. 

On  the  25th  of  June,  Gen.  Melikoff,  with  the  Russian  center 


THE  RUSSIAN  REVERSE  IN  ARMENIA. 


277 


attacked  the  Turkish  camp  at  Zewin.  This  position  was  very 
strongly  posted  among  the  mountains  of  the  Soghanli  Dagh,  near 
the  point  where  the  road  from  Erzerum  to  Kars  crosses  that  range. 
It  was  surrounded  by  high  mountains,  and  itself  occupied  a  lower 
mountain,  on  the  summit  of  which  was  a  redoubt  armed  with  four 
Krupp  guns  which  formed  its  center.  The  Turkish  force,  of  seven 
thousand  infantry,  supported  by  two  cannon,  was  posted  in  sheltered 
trenches  around  the  redoubt,  and  their  reserves,  three  thousand  men 
with  two  guns,  were  stationed  on  the  higher  mountains  back  of  the 
camp.  They  were  commanded  by  Ismail  Pasha,  the  Kurd,  Gov- 
ernor of  Erzerum,  assisted  by  Feizi  Pasha.  The  Russians,  with  ten 
battalions  of  infantry  and  twenty-one  guns,  had  taken  a  position  dur- 
ing the  night  of  the  24rth  on  the  mountain  opposite  the  camp,  which 
was  higher  and  less  steep  than  the  one  in  its  rear. 

The  battle  began  with  a  skirmish  of  cavalry,  after  which  the  Rus- 
sian batteries  opened  fire  upon  the  Turkish  redoubt  and  its  supporting 
infantry.  "  Fifteen  Russian  guns,"  says  the  correspondent  of  the  Lon- 
don Standard,  "  fired  incessantly  at  the  little  redoubt  armed  with  four 
cannon,  which  commanded  the  whole  field  of  battle  from  its  excellent 
position,  and  within  an  hour  over  fifty  shells  fell  in  the  redoubt,  but 
the  men  never  flinched  for  a  moment."  The  Turkish  fire,  he  adds, 
was  quite  equal  to  the  Russians',  at  least  four  times  superior  to  them  in 
numbers ;  "  and  the  artillery  fight  had  absolutely  no  result."  Soon 
after  noon  the  Russians  made  an  attempt  to  storm  the  redoubt.  Their 
infantry  were  sent  forward  to  climb  the  mountain  under  cover  of  an 
incessant  fire  from  their  batteries.  The  ascent  was  extremely  steep. 
The  Russians  were  met  by  an  accurate  fire  from  the  redoubt  and 
the  Turkish  infantry,  which  thinned  their  ranks  fearfully,  but 
steadily  reinforced,  they  pressed  011,  returning  to  the  advance 
after  each  successive  repulse.  At  last  their  attacks  on  the  center 
were  slackened.  An  effort  was  made  against  the  Turkish  right 
wing,  but  it  was  continued  but  a  little  while,  and  by  nightfall  the 
Russians  were  in  retreat. 

The  Russian  official  telegrams  gave  the  following  account  of  this 
engagement : 

"  On  the  25th  of  June  Gen.  Loris  Melikoff  attacked  the  Turks  in 
their  fortified  camp  at  Zewin,  the  fight  lasting  from  two  o'clock 
P.M.  till  night.  Our  troops  dislodged  the  enemy  from  his  advanced 
position,  but  to  avoid  the  fire  of  the  Turkish  forts,  returned  to  their 
own  positions  in  the  night.  The  valor  of  our  troops  was  truly 


278  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

heroic  ;  owing,  however,  to  our  numerical  inferiority,  we  have  buf- 
fered considerable  loss.  The  enemy  had  twenty-three  battalions  in 
a  strongly  fortified  position.  We  had  three  officers  killed,  twenty- 
four  officers  wounded,  and  850  soldiers  disabled." 

The  nominal  commander  of  the  Turkish  forces,  Kurd  Ismail 
Pasha,  took  no  active  part  in  the  engagement,  but  spent  his  time  in 
his  tent  praying,  while  the  operations  which  led  to  decisive  victory 
were  directed  by  his  second,  or  assistant  in  command,  General  Kohl- 
man,  chief  of  staff  to  Mukhtar  Pasha,  a  Hungarian  officer,  who  was 
called  Feizy  Pasha  by  the  Turks.  "  JSTot  only,"  says  the  correspond- 
ent of  the  London  Times,  "  did  this  gallant  old  officer  superintend 
all  arrangements,  personally  visiting  every  battalion  and  shelter- 
trench,  but  once  or  twice  early  in  the  day,  when  the  Russians,  press- 
ing close  up  to  the  intrenchments,  caused  the  Turks  to  waver,  in  one 
instance,  indeed,  to  retire  somewhat  rapidly,  he  led  them  himself 
forward,  revived  their  drooping  spirits,  inspired  them  with  fresh 
courage,  and  so  won  the  day  for  his  adopted  Government."  The 
Russian  forces,  after  the  battle  of  Zewin,  retreated  to  their  camp  be- 
fore Kars. 

The  battles  of  Delibaba  and  Zewin,  in  which  the  Russian  left  and 
center  successively  suffered  defeat,  were  decisive  of  the  fate  of  the 
campaign  in  Armenia.  The  Russians  made  no  further  attempts  at 
offensive  operations,  but  devoted  their  attention  to  protecting  their 
forces  against  further  disaster,  and  withdrawing  them  to  safer  posi- 
tions. Their  failure  was  ascribed  to  the  division  of  the  force  into 
too  many  bodies,  neither  of  which  was  sufficient  for  effective  opera- 
tions, while  all  were  exposed  to  the  attack  and  defeat  in  detail  which 
actually  took  place.  Had  not  the  Turks  been  nearly  as  weak  as  they 
were,  they  would  have  been  now  in  a  perilous  position,  and  in  dan- 
ger of  being  cut  up  by  attacks  upon  their  flanks  and  rear.  As  it 
was,  the  Turks  were  in  no  condition  to  pursue  them,  and  their  armies, 
with  the  exception  of  the  garrison  at  Bayazid,  succeeded  in  retiring 
without  suffering  material  damage. 

The  Russian  official  dispatches  gave  the  following  explanations  of 
their  defeats  :  "  General  Loris  Melikoff  having  reached  the  Araxes 
Valley  by  way  of  Kars  and  Kagisman,  was  marching  west  in  the  di- 
rection of  Erzerum,  when  the  Turks  occupying  the  fortified  posi- 
tion of  Zewin  menaced  his  right  flank.  To  prevent  an  attack  in 
front  and  rear,  General  Melikoff,  before  proceeding  further  west,  had 
to  turn  north  and  attack  Zewin.  The  attempt  failed,  and  General 


THE  R  U SSI  AN  RE  VERSE  IN  ARMENIA.  28 1 

Melikoff  fell  back  to  the  Araxes  Y alley,  where  he  heard  that  the 
southern  column  under  Lieutenant- General  Tergukassoff,  which  was 
to  have  met  him  there  previous  to  the  joint  march  on  Erzerum,  was 
likewise  defeated  near  Delibaba,  and  had  retreated.  Lieutenant-Gen- 
eral  Tergukassoff  is  seemingly  determined  to  retrace  his  steps  to  the 
frontier  and  rescue  Bayazid,  while  General  Melikoff,  according  to  the 
latest  intelligence,  intended  to  take  up  a  position  in  the  Araxes  Val- 
ley and  hold  the  road  to  Kars  against  the  victorious  force  from 
Zewin." 

The  Grand  Duke  Michael  arrived  at  Kars  in  the  beginning  of 
June,  and  established  his  headquarters  with  the  investing  force. 
The  Russian  camp  before  this  fortress  was  situated  north  of  the  city, 
and  on  the  east  side  of  the  Kars  Tchai  River,  occupying  a  series '  of 
hills  lying  between  Kars  and  Marza,  about  six  or  seven  miles  dis- 
tant. The  headquarters  of  the  Grand  Duke's  staff  were  in  advance, 
near  the  summit  of  a  hill,  at  an  elevation  of  six  thousand  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea,  from  which  every  movement  could  be  watched. 
Opposite  the  camp  were  two  groups  of  lofty  hills,  separated  by  a 
deep  gorge  through  which  the  river  flows,  and  surmounted  by  three 
of  the  principal  Turkish  fortresses,  Fort  Arab  in  the  center,  Fort 
Kara  Dagh  at  the  left,  and  Fort  Mukhlis  at  the  right,  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  gorge  of  the  river.  On  the  left  of  the  town  which 
lay  behind  Kara  Dagh,  was  another  fort,  Hafiz  Pasha,  on  low  ground. 
On  the  left  of  the  whole  fortress  a  plain  extended  as  far  as  the  mount- 
ains, nearly  two  miles  from  the  town.  The  grassy  plain  around  the 
town  was  diversified  by  knolls,  which  afforded  excellent  positions 
for  the  Russian  batteries  and  the  concealment  of  troops.  The  Rus- 
sians had  seventy-four  guns  and  mortars  in  position,  the  nearest  of 
which  were  two  miles  from  the  fort.  Of  all  the  forts,  Fort  Arab 
and  Fort  Kara  Dagh  were  the  most  formidable,  and  it  was  against 
these  two  that  the  Russian  fire  was  chiefly  directed.  The  siege  afforded 
but  few  scenes  of  especial  interest.  The  same  events  were  repeated 
day  after  day,  consisting  of  the  opening  of  the  fire  by  the  Russians 
at  five  or  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  response  by  the  Turks  after 
a  few  hours,  after  which  the  cannonading  was  incessant  till  night 
put  an  end  to  the  day's  work.  The  Russians  fired  the  more  frequent- 
ly, but  the  firing  of  the  Turks  was  very  accurate.  "There  is  no- 
doubt,"  said  a  newspaper  correspondent  who  was  in  the  Russian 
camp,  "  that  the  Turks  have  splendid  guns,  and  that  they  know  how 
to  direct  them." 
15 


282  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

The  Russians  made  several  attempts  to  carry  particular  positions 
bj  storm,  which  were  always  repulsed,  and  the  garrison  made  sorties 
which  were  without  result  till  Sunday,  July  18th,  when,  the  Rus- 
sians having  been  weakened  and  partly  disorganized  by  their  recent 
defeats  at  Delibaba  and  Zewin,  they  reopened  communications  with 
Mukhtar  Pasha.  On  the  4th  of  July,  General  Melikoff  announced 
in  a  dispatch  issued  at  Alexandropol  that  the  siege  of  Kars  had  been 
suspended  in  order  to  place  the  besieging  troops  in  a  position  to 
move  with  greater  readiness  against  Mukhtar  Pasha's  advance, 
which  had  been  pushed  to  within  twenty  miles  of  the  city  ;  that  the 
siege  artillery  had  been  sent  to  Kuruk  Dara  and  Alexandropol ;  the 
greater  part  of  the  cavalry  had  been  concentrated  at  Chalifaghlie 
to  protect  communications,  and  the  infantry  had  been  stationed 
at  Zaim . 

On  the  following  Sunday,  July  8th,  the  Turkish  force  having 
been  advanced  to  Wahiran  Kaleh,  eight  miles  south  of  Kars, 
Mukhtar  Pasha,  accompanied  by  Sir  Arnold  Kemball,  the  Com- 
missioner of  Observation  appointed  by  the  British  Government  to 
accompany  the  Turkish  army,  rode  into  the  city  and  went  over  the 
batteries  at  Kara  Dagh  Tabia,  where  the  bombardment  had  been 
heaviest,  without  being  molested.  The  Russian  headquarters  were 
then  at  Zaim. 

General  Tergukassoff,  after  having  been  defeated  in  the  battle  of 
Delibaba,  withdrew  his  forces  in  good  order  and  began  a  retreat 
toward  the  Russian  frontier.  He  was  continuously  followed  by 
Ismail  Pasha,  and  threatened  on  his  left  by  Faik  Pasha,  who  had 
collected  a  host  of  Kurds  for  the  investment  of  the  Russian  garrison 
at  Bayazid,  but  neither  officer  made  any  serious  efforts  to  intercept 
his  movement.  An  attack  was  made  upon  him  at  Kara  Kilissa, 
and  one  of  more  importance  at  Ipek,  which,  however,  had  no  effect 
in  disarranging  his  plans.  He  afterward  turned  suddenly  from  the 
direct  road,  quite  throwing  his  antagonists  at  bay,  and  proceeded  to 
Igdir,  in  the  Russian  territory  north  of  Bayazid.  His  march  was 
delayed  by  the  crowd  of  Christian  fugitives  who  sought  his  protec- 
tion flying  from  the  Bashi-Bazouks  and  Kurds,  who  were  swarm- 
ing through  the  districts  occupied  by  the  Russians,  and  committing 
their  characteristic  outrages.  Yet  his  movements  were  so  rapid 
that  the  possibility  of  his  arrival  at  Igdir  at  the  time  he  was  reported 
•to  have  reached  that  place  was  doubted  until  a  confirmatory  dis- 
patch was  received.  His  stay  at  Igdir  was  short,  for  he  only  waited 


THE  RUSSIAN  REVERSE  IN  ARMENIA.  283 

long  enough  to  lay  in  stores  of  provisions  and  war  materials,  and 
hastened  away  to  relieve  the  Russian  garrison  at  Bayazid,  which  was 
already  beleaguered  by  a  horde  of  13,000  Turks  and  Kurds,  and  was 
in  destitution  and  distress.  Bayazid  had  been  captured  from  the 
Turks  at  the  beginning  of  the  campaign,  and  had  been  left  in  charge 
of  a  garrison,  while  General  Tergukassoff  advanced  with  the  main 
part  of  his  column  toward  Erzerum.  It  was  exposed  to  incursions 
from  the  Kurds,  who  were  swarming  around  Lake  Van,  and  the 
garrison  had  been  cut  off  from  the  main  army  for  about  a  month. 
On  the  19th  of  June,  a  part  of  the  garrison,  consisting  of  two  bat- 
talions and  about  one  thousand  Cossacks,  moved  out  of  the  post  and 
were  attacked  and  defeated  by  the  Turks.  The  Cossack  cavalry,  who 
attempted  to  cover  the  retreat,  were  surrounded  and  compelled  to  sur- 
render, after  which,  a  dispute  arising  between  some  of  the  Cossacks 
and  the  Kurds,  they  were  massacred.  The  Turks  held  possession  of 
the  town,  while  the  garrison  were  confined  to  the  citadel.  Their  situa- 
tion was  painful  in  the  extreme.  The  defenses  of  the  fort  were 
weak,  the  stores  of  provisions  were  nearly  exhausted,  and  the  men 
were  worn  out  by  the  constant  watchfulness  and  efforts  which  they 
were  obliged  to  exert  to  avoid  surprise  by  their  powerful  foe  ;  worst 
of  all,  there  was  no  water  inside  of  the  citadel,  and  they  were 
obliged  to  fetch  it  from  outside  the  works  in  the  face  of  the  enemy. 
General  Tergukassoff,  making  a  march  of  remarkable  speed,  reached 
Bayazid  on  the  9th  of  July.  After  a  cannonade  of  several  hours, 
the  Russians  made  a  fierce  onslaught,  advancing  their  whole  line 
with  a  well-directed  and  sustained  fire,  under  which  the  Turks  were 
compelled  to  fall  back.  As  soon  as  the  regulars  yielded,  the  Kurds 
broke  and  fled  in  every  direction,  and  the  Russians  marched  into 
the  town.  Several  prisoners,  four  cannon,  and  a  large  quantity  of 
ammunition  and  provisions  were  captured.  The  town  was  in  ruins, 
and  the  atmosphere  was  so  infected  from  dead  bodies  in  a  state  of 
decomposition — "  a  testimony  of  Turkish  atrocities,"  the  Russian 
commander  alleged — that  he  considered  it  impossible  to  prolong  the 
sojourn  of  his  troops  there.  The  garrison  were  in  a  deplorable  con- 
dition, and  physically  unable  to  fight.  The  Turks  were  receiving 
reinforcements,  and  General  Tergukassoff  wished  to  complete  the 
movement  to  join  the  main  body  of  troops  at  Zaim ;  therefore,  hav- 
ing secured  the  safety  of  the  garrison,  he  evacuated  the  citadel,  and 
it  was  immediately  occupied  by  the  Turks. 

The  statements  of  General  Tergukassoff  as  to  the  condition  in 


284  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST> 

which  he  found  the  town  are  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of  two 
British  officers  who  visited  the  place  after  it  was  restored  to  the 
Turks.  They  represented  that  the  whole  town  was  in  ruins,  and 
filled  with  the  bodies  of  Christian  citizens  whom  the  Turks  had 
ruthlessly  slaughtered,  and  that  the  Russian  soldiers  were  employed 
for  six  days  in  burying  the  dead  citizens. 

The  gallantry  of  General  Tergukassoff  was  warmly  commended 
by  the  correspondent  of  the  London  Times,  who  was  with  the  Turk- 
ish army,  who  pronounced  him  the  only  Russian  who  had  "  shown 
any  pretension  to  generalship."  This  writer  characterized  the  man- 
ner in  which  he  had  handled  his  troops  at  Tahir,  or  Zeidekan,  the 
stubborn  resistance  which  he  had  offered  at  Delibaba,  the  in- 
cidents of  his  conduct  during  his  retreat,  and  "  finally  his  dashing 
flank  march  from  Igdir  to  Bayazid,  and  the  relief  of  that  place  in 
front  of  two  Turkish  corps,  both  superior  to  him  in  numbers,"  as 
stamping  him  as  a  general  of  the  first  class. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

THE  BATTLES   AROUND   PLEVNA. 

Change  in  the  Fortunes  of  the  Russians — Removal  of  Abdul  Kerim — Appointment  of 
Mehemet  Ali  to  the  Supreme  Command — Plevna,  its  Situation — Arrival  of  Osinan 
Pasha — Battle  of  July  19th — Defeat  of  the  Russians — Osman  Captures  Lovatz— Battle 
of  Karabunar — Retreat  of  General  Gourko — Battle  of  Eski  Sagra — Second  Defeat  of 
the  Russians  at  Plevna,  July  31st — Retreat  of  the  Russians  from  the  Lorn — Opera- 
tions in  the  Dobrudja — Bombardment  of  Kustendje — Struggles  in  the  Shipka  Pass — 
Battle  of  Karasan — Repulse  of  a  Turkish  Attack  on  Pelisat — Skobeleff  Recaptures 
Lovatz — Battle  of  Kechlova — Third  Defeat  of  the  Russians  before  Plevna— Capture 
of  the  Grivitza  Redoubt — Bravery  of  the  Rumanian  Troops. 

OUR  last  chapter  on  the  operations  in  Europe  left  General  Gourko 
across  the  Balkans,  and  the  Kussians  in  possession  of  Nicopolis. 
Hitherto,  all  had  gone  most  prosperously  with  the  Russians.  Their 
advance  had  been  pushed  without  meeting  any  resistance  that  could 
delay  or  embarrass  their  movements,  and  it  seemed  very  probable 
that  they  would  soon  have  all  of  Bulgaria  north  of  the  Balkans  in 
their  possession.  A  sudden  change  now  took  place  in  their  for- 
tunes, in  consequence  of  which  they  were  compelled  to  withdraw 
from  much  of  the  country  they  had  won,  and  to  begin  over  again 
the  hard  work  of  the  campaign. 

At  about  this  time,  Abdul  Kerim  was  removed  from  the  com- 
mand of  the  Turkish  forces  and  sent  to  Constantinople  to  be 
courtmartialed,  and  Mehemet  Ali,  who  had  been  transferred  from 
Montenegro  to  the  Danube,  was  appointed  commander  in  his  place. 
Osman  Pasha,  finding  that  he  was  too  late  to  accomplish  anything 
upon  the  Danube  against  the  overwhelming  numbers  of  the  enemy, 
and  judging  that  the  Russians  would  attempt  to  follow  the  road 
leading  from  Sistova,  Rustchuk,  and  Biela,  toward  Sophia,  changed 
the  direction  of  his  inarch  to  one  leading  south-eastward,  and  taking 
with  him  the  troops  he  had  gathered  from  Widin  and  Nissa,  occu- 
pied Plevna. 

This  point,  which  was  destined  henceforth  to  play  a  part  of 
paramount  importance  in  the  campaign,  had  not  before  been  recog- 
nized as  possessing  any  great  strategical  advantages.  Plevna  was 

(285) 


286  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

an  open  town  of  about  eighteen  thousand  inhabitants,  principally 
Bulgarians,  situated  on  the  southern  side  of  the  Grivitza  Elver, 
one  of  the  affluents  of  the  Yid,  a  little  less  than  four  miles  from  the 
junction  of  the  two  streams.  It  is  traversed  by  a  small  stream 
which,  coming  down  from  Bogot  in  the  south,  empties  here  into  the 
Grivitza.  Lying  low  in  the  valley,  it  is  surrounded  by  a  hilly,  fer- 
tile, well-tilled  district,  with  vineyards  and  cornfields  on  the  ridges, 
and  is  an  important  market  town  for  the  region.  Its  location  and 
the  relations  of  its  roads  made  it  a  point  at  which  troops  could  be 
easily  concentrated,  which  was  what  the  Turks  needed  at  this  time 
in  this  part  of  their  field  of  operations.  From  Plevna  roads  diverge 
in  all  directions,  to  Sistova  and  Eustchuk,  to  Nicopolis,  to  Biela,  to 
Lovatz,  to  Sophia.  The  main  road  from  Sistova  to  Sophia  runs 
through  the  town  and  over  one  of  the  ridges  to  the  east  of  it ;  and 
herein  lay  the  strategical  advantage  of  the  place  at  this  moment. 
Whoever  held  it  in  force  commanded  the  flank  of  the  Eussian  army, 
and  was  able  to  block  their  onward  march.  Osman  Pasha,  having 
occupied  the  place,  and  perceived  its  peculiar  advantages  in  the 
present  situation,  immediately  began  to  concentrate  in  it  all  the 
troops  within  his  control,  and  to  surround  it  with  a  system  of  strong 
works.  The  wisdom  of  his  operation  was  justified  by  the  fact  that 
he  had  the  main  force  of  the  Eussian  army  engaged  before  Plevna 
for  several  months,  and  that  however  successful  they  might  be  else- 
where, they  could  make  no  permanent  impression  upon  the  integrity 
of  the  Turkish  defense  until  they  had  carried  this  position. 

The  Eussiaus,  under  Gen.  Shilder-Shuldner,  of  Baron  Kriidener's 
corps,  entered  Plevna  on  the  19th  of  July,  with  the  intention  of 
driving  the  Turks  out.  The  Eussian  general  was  negligent  as  to 
his  precautions.  He  grossly  underestimated  the  strength  of  the 
Turks,  and  having  let  his  corps  be  weakened  by  sending  one  detach- 
ment to  protect  the  bridge  at  Simnitza  and  another  to  transport  the 
provisions  taken  at  Nicopolis,  and  having  left  a  garrison  in  that  city, 
he  set  out  with  the  remainder  to  attack  Osman  in  his  selected  strong- 

O 

hold.  Owing  to  the  character  of  the  topography  of  the  place,  the 
Eussians  were  not  able  to  perceive  the  full  strength  of  the  Turkish 
position  until  they  were  almost  upon  it.  Consequently,  they  were 
surprised  and  thrown  back  with  a  heavy  loss,  given,  according  to  the 
most  careful  estimates,  at  sixty-six  officers  and  2,771  men  killed, 
wounded,  or  taken  prisoners,  or  more  than  one-third  of  the  whole 


THE  BATTLES  AROUND  PLEVNA.  287 

force.  Reinforcements  came  to  the  Russians  on  the  next  day,  but 
their  officers  would  not  risk  a  renewal  of  the  attack. 

After  this  defeat  it  was  necessary  to  strengthen  Lovatz.  It  was 
done,  but  not  sufficiently,  for  on  July  26th  Osman  Pasha  drove  the 
Russians  from  the  place  after  a  severe  fight.  At  the  same  time, 
Baron  Kriidener  improved  his  own  position  considerably  by  with- 
drawing the  garrison  of  Nicopolis,  who  were  replaced  by  a  Rumanian 
division  under  General  Manu,  the  first  Rumanian  troops  to  cross  the 
river,  while  he  also  received  considerable  reinforcements  from  the 
main  army. 

South  of  the  Balkans,  Suleiman  Pasha,  who  had  arrived  from, 
Montenegro  with  the  greater  part  of  his  army,  effected  a  junction 
with  Rauf  Pasha,  and  was  appointed  Commander-in-chief  of  the 
army  of  Rumelia,  with  60,000  men  under  his  command.  On  July 
26th  he  was  encountered  by  Gen.  Gourko  at  Karabunar,  south-west 
of  Yeni  Sagra,  and  having  been  defeated,  retreated  upon  Adrian- 
ople.  After  the  Russian  disasters  at  Plevna,  it  was,  however, 
deemed  important  that  Gen.  Gourko  should  secure  the  passes  held 
by  him,  and  for  this  purpose  he  was  ordered  back.  He  immediately 
retired  to  the  Shipka  Pass,  followed  closely  by  Suleiman  Pasha,  who 
inflicted  a  defeat  upon  him  at  Eski  Sagra,  on  July  31st. 

On  July  30th,  General  Kriidener,  by  order  of  the  Grand  Duke 
commanding,  again  attacked  Plevna.  His  force,  which  had  been 
doubled  since  his  recent  defeat,  consisted  of  four  infantry  divisions, 
three  cavalry  brigades,  and  1YO  guns,  composed  of  his  own,  the  Ninth 
army  corps,  with  the  exception  of  the  Nineteenth  infantry  regiment, 
which  had  been  sent  to  Nicopolis  as  garrison,  the  Thirtieth  infantry 
division  of  the  Fourth  army  corps,  the  Thirty- second  infantry  divis- 
ion, with  four  squadrons  of  cavalry  of  the  Eleventh  corps,  and  the 
brigade  of  Caucasian  Cossacks  of  Gen.  Skobeleff.  Grand  Duke 
Nicholas  had,  on  July  21st,  ordered  the  Thirtieth  division  of  the 
Fourth  corps,  which  had  just  crossed  the  Danube,  to  march  to  Plevna 
instead  of  to  Tirnova,  and  to  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  General 
Kriidener.  The  Eleventh  army  corps,  which  was  said  to  have 
reached  Osman  Bazar,  and  in  that  case  would  have  formed  the  right 
wing  of  the  army  operating  against  Rasgrad-Shumla,  was  also 
ordered  to  send  at  once  the  Thirty-second  division  with  four 
squadrons  of  cavalry  to  the  Osma,  to  form  the  left  wing  of  the  force 
operating  against  Plevna.  Prince  Shachovsky,  the  commander  of 


288  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

the  corps,  led  this  column  in  person,  and  reached  the  Osma  after 
a  six  days'  march.  General  Kriidener,  to  whom  the  chief  command 
of  the  operations  against  Plevna  had  been  entrusted,  had  originally 
concentrated  his  own  corps  at  Bryslam,  between  Plevna  and  Nicop- 
olis,  and  bad  afterward  moved  almost  the  entire  corps  to  the  south, 
taking  a  position  up  the  road  from  Biela  to  Plevna,  with  his  head- 
quarters at  Tirstenik,  about  eighteen  miles  east  of  Plevna,  leaving 
only  one  brigade  of  the  Ninth  cavalry  division,  with  some  mounted 
batteries,  at  Bryslam  to  secure  his  right  flank  and  the  road  to  Nicop- 
olis.  The  Daily  News  correspondent  described  the  battle  as  fol- 
lows: 

"  The  night  between  the  30th  and  31st  was  very  wet,  and  troops 
did  not  begin  to  march  forward  before  six,  instead  of  four.  The 
number  of  infantry  combatants  was  actually  about  32,000,  with  160 
field  cannon  and  three  brigades  of  cavalry.  Baron  Kriidener  was 
on  the  right  with  the  whole  of  the  Thirty-first  division  in  his  fight- 
ing line,  and  three  regiments  of  the  Fifth  division  in  reserve  at 
Karajac  Burgarsky.  He  was  to  attack  in  two  columns,  a  brigade  in 
each.  On  the  left  was  Shachovsky,  with  a  brigade  of  the  Thirty- 
second  division  and  a  brigade  of  the  Thirtieth  division  in  fighting 
line.  Another  brigade  of  the  Thirtieth  division  was  in  reserve  at 
Pelisat.  The  Turkish  position  was  convex,  somewhat  in  horse-shoe 
shape,  but  more  pointed.  Baron  Kriidener  was  to  attack  the  Turkish 
left  flank  from  Grivitza  toward  the  river  Yid.  Shachovsky  was 
to  assail  their  right  from  Radisevo,  also  toward  the  river  Yid.  On 
the  left  flank  of  the  attack  stood  Skobeleff,  with  a  brigade  of  Cos- 
sacks, a  battalion  of  infantry,  and  a  battery,  to  cope  with  the  Turkish 
troops  on  the  line  from  Plevna  to  Lovatz,  and  hindering  them  from 
interfering  with  the  development  of  Shachovsky's  attack.  On  the 
right  flank  stood  Lascardff,  with  two  cavalry  regiments  to  guard 
Kriidener  from  a  counter  attack.  The  morning  was  gloomy,  which 
the  Russians  regarded  as  a  favorable  omen.  The  troops  cheered 
vigorously  as  they  passed  the  General.  Physically,  there  are  no 
finer  men  in  the  world.  In  the  pink  of  hard  condition,  and  march- 
ing without  packs,  carrying  only  great-coat,  haversack  with  rations, 
and  ammunition,  they  seemed  fit  to  go  anywhere  or  do  anything. 
Shachovsky's  right  column  marched  over  Pelisat  and  Sgalievica.  The 
left  column  headed  straight  for  Radisevo.  The  artillery  pushed 
forward  from  the  first,  and  worked  independently.  Marching  for- 
ward, we  found  the  cavalry  foreposts  on  the  sky  line  above  Pelisat, 


ABDUL    KERIM. 


GENERAL    SKOBELEFF. 


THE  BA  TTLES  ARO  UND  PLE  VNA.  291 

and  on  the  sloping  downs  the  infantry  deployed  as  they  advanced, 
as  the  Russian  practice  is  on  open  ground.  The  formation  was  in 
column  of  double  companies,  with  rifle  companies  in  front  of  each 
battalion.  Kriidener,  on  the  right,  opened  the  action  at  9:30, 
bringing  a  battery  into  fire  from  the  ridge  on  the  Turkish  earthwork 
above  the  village.  At  first  it  seemed  as  if  the  Turks  were  surprised. 
It  was  some  time  ere  they  replied,  but  then  they  did  so  vigorously, 
and  gave  quite  as  good  as  they  got  from  Kriidener.  The  objective 
of  Prince  Shachovsky,  with  whom  I  rode,  was,  in  the  first  instance, 
Radisevo,  and  it  behoved  us,  therefore,  to  bear  away  to  the  left. 
The  village  of  Radisevo  lies  in  a  deep  valley  behind  the  southern 
wave  or  ridge  of  the  Turkish  position,  and  there  is  another  ridge 
behind  this  valley.  On  that  ridge  our  cannon,  placed  by  Col. 
Bishovsky,  chief  of  Prince  Shachovsky  'a  staff,  was  firing  in  line  on 
the  Turkish  guns  .on  the  ridge  beyond  the  valley  with  fine  effect. 
The  infantry  went  down  into  the  valley  under  this  covering  fire,  and 
I  accompanied  the  column.  We  carried  Radisevo  with  a  trivial 
skirmish,  for  in  the  village  there  was  only  a  handful  of  Bashi- 
Bazouks,  who,  standing  their  ground,  were  promptly  bayonetted. 
The  infantry  remained  under  cover  of  the  village.  I  returned  up 
the  slope  to  our  batteries.  These,  firing  with  great  rapidity  and 
accuracy,  soon  compelled  the  Turkish  cannon  to  quit  the  opposite 
height.  During  the  last  spurt  of  their  firing,  Prince  Shachovsky 
rode  along  the  rear  of  our  batteries  from  the  right  to  the  left,  under 
a  fire  which  killed  two  horses  in  our  little  group.  Our  cannon, 
playing  on  the  Turkish  guns  on  the  opposite  ridge,  quelled  their  fire 
after  about  half  an  hour's  cannonade,  and  it  was  then  for  our  bat- 
teries to  cross  the  valley  passing  through  Radisevo  and  come  into 
action  in  the  position  vacated  by  the  Turkish  guns ;  and  following 
them,  our  infantry  also  descended  into  the  hollow,  and  lay  down  in 
the  glades  about  the  village  and  on  the  steep  slope  behind  our  guns 
in  action." 

The  second  period  of  the  battle  commenced  at  2 :  30 : 
"  Two  brigades  of  infantry  were  in  the  Radisevo  Yalley,  behind 
the  guns  of  Gen.  Tcherkoffs  brigade — the  Thirty-second  division  on 
the  right,  the  First  brigade  of  the  Thirtieth  division  on  the  left.  The 
leading  battalions  were  ordered  to  rise  up  and  advance  over  the 
ridge  to  attack.  The  order  was  hailed  with  glad  cheers,  for  the  in- 
fantrymen had  been  chafing  at  their  inaction,  and  the  battalions, 
with  a  swift,  swinging  step,  streamed  forward  through  the  glen  and 


292  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

up  the  steep  slope  behind,  marching  in  company  columns,  the  rifle 
companies  leading.  The  artillery  had  heralded  this  movement  with 
increased  rapidity  of  fire,  which  was  maintained  to  cover  and  aid  the 
infantrymen  when  the  latter  had  crossed  the  crest  and  were  descend- 
ing the  slope  and  crossing  the  intervening  valley  to  the  assault  of 
the  Turkish  position.  Just  before  reaching  the  crest,  the  battalion 
deployed  into  line  at  the  double,  and  crossed  it  in  this  formation, 
breaking  to  pass  through  the  intervals  between  the  guns.  Presently, 
all  along  the  face  of  the  advancing  infantrymen  burst  forth  flaring 
volleys  of  musketry  fire.  The  jagged  lines  spring  onward  through 
the  maize  fields,  gradually  assuming  a  concave  shape.  The  Turkish 
position  is  neared.  The  roll  of  rifle  fire  is  incessant,  yet  dominated  by 
the  fiercer  and  louder  turmoil  of  the  artillery  above.  The  ammuni- 
tion wagons  gallop  up  to  the  cannon  with  fresh  fuel  for  the  fire. 
The  guns  redouble  the  energy  of  their  firing.  The  crackle  of  the 
musketry  fire  rises  into  a  sharp  peal.  The  clamor  of  the  hurrahs 
of  the  fighting  men  comes  back  to  us  on  the  breeze,  making  the 
blood  tingle  with  the  excitement  of  the  fray.  A  village  is  blazing 
on  the  left.  The  fell  fury  of  the  battle  has  entered  on  its  maddest 
paroxysm.  The  supports  that  had  remained  beliind,  lying  just  un- 
der the  crest  of  the  slope,  are  pushed  forward  over  the  brow  of  the 
hill.  The  wounded  begin  to  trickle  back  over  the  ridge.  We  can  see 
the  dead  and  the  more  severely  wounded  lying  where  they  fall  on  the 
stubbles  and  amid  the  maize.  The  living  wave  of  fighting  men  is 
pouring  over  them  ever  on  and  on.  The  gallant  gunners  to  the 
right  and  to  the  left  of  us  stand  to  their  work  with  a  will.  On  the 
shell-swept  ridge  the  Turkish  cannon  fire  begins  to  waver.  In  that 
earthwork  over  against  us  more  supports  stream  down  with  a  louder 
cheer  into  the  Russian  fighting  line.  Suddenly  the  disconnected 
men  are  together.  We  can  discern  the  officers  signaling  for  the 
concentration  by  the  waving  of  their  swords.  The  distance  is  about 
one  hundred  yards.  There  is  a  wild  rush,  headed  by  the  Colonel  of 
one  of  the  regiments  of  the  Thirty-second  division.  The  Turks  in  the 
sheltered  trench  hold  their  ground,  and  fire  steadily,  and  with  terri- 
ble effect,  into  the  advancing  forces.  The  Colonel's  horse  goes  down, 
but  the  Colonel  is  on  his  feet  in  a  second,  and,  waving  his  sword, 
leads  his  men  forward  on  foot.  But  only  for  a  few  paces.  He  stag- 
gers and  falls.  I  heard  afterward  he  was  killed.  We  can  hear  the 
sound  of  wrath,  half  howl,  half  yell,  with  wrhich  his  men,  bayonets 
at  the  charge,  rush  to  avenge  him.  They  are  over  the  parapet  and 


THE  BA  TTLES  ARO  UND  PLE  VNA.         293 

shelter  trench,  and  in  among  the  Turks  like  an  avalanche.  Not 
many  Turks  get  a  chance  to  run  away  from  the  gleaming  bayo- 
nets, swayed  by  muscular  Kussian  arms.  The  outer  edge  of  the  first 
position  is  won.  This  time  the  Turks  did  not  wait  for  the  bayonet 
points,  but  with  one  final  volley  abandoned  the  work.  "We  watched 
their  huddled  mass  in  the  gardens  and  vineyard  behind  the  position, 
cramming  the  narrow  track  between  the  trees  to  gain  the  shelter  of 
their  batteries  in  the  rear  of  the  second  position.  So  fell  the  first 
position  of  the  Turks.  Kriidener  was  clearly  jammed.  The  Turks 
were  fighting  furiously,  and  were  in  unexpected  force  on  the  broad 
central  ridge  of  theirs  as  well  as  against  Kriidener.  The  first  posi- 
tion, in  natural  as  in  artificial  strength,  was  child's  play  to  the  grim 
starkness  of  the  second  on  that  isolated  mamelon  there  with  the  bat- 
teries on  the  swell  behind  it.  But  Shachovsky  determined  to  go  for 
it,  and  his  troops  were  not  the  men  to  balk  him.  The  first  rush, 
however,  was  out  of  them.  Many  must  have  been  blown.  They 
hung  a  good  deal  in  the  advance,  exposing  themselves  recklessly, 
and  falling  fast,  but  not  progressing  with  much  speed.  It  is  a  dan- 
gerous time  when  troops  sullenly  stand  still  and  doggedly  fire  when 
the  stationary  fit  is  on  them.  Shachovsky  kept  his  finger  well  on  the 
throbbing  pulse  of  the  battle.  Just  in  the  nick  of  time  half  his  reserve 
brigades  were  thrown  into  the  fight,  while  the  other  half  took  part 
in  the  attack  on  our  left  flank.  The  new  blood  tells  at  once.  There 
is  a  move  forward,  and  no  more  standing  and  craning  over  the  fence. 
The  Turks  in  the  flank  earthwork  are  reinforced.  I  can  see  some 
Russian  officers  on  horseback  standing  coolly  behind  the  bank  of  the 
vineyard  that  serves  as  a  parapet,  observing  the  addition  to  the 
Turkish  force.  They  ride  off  and  speedily  return.  I  can  hardly  say 
how  it  all  happens,  but  all  of  a  sudden  the  white  smoke  spurts  forth, 
and  swarms  of  dark-clothed  men  are  scrambling  on.  There  is  evi- 
dently a  short,  but  sharp  struggle.  Then  one  sees  a  swarm  of  men 
flying  across  the  green  of  the  vineyard.  But  they  don't  go  far,  and 
prowl  around  the  western  and  northern  faces  of  the  work,  rendering 
its  occupation  very  precarious.  The  Turkish  cannon  from  behind 
drops  shells  into  it  with  singular  precision.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
Russians  occupied  this,  the  second  position  of  the  Turks,  but  never 
held  it.  It  was  all  but  empty  for  a  long  time,  and  continuous  fight- 
ing took  place  about  its  flanks.  About  six  the  Turks  pressed  for- 
ward a  heavy  mass  of  infantry  for  its  recapture.  Shachovsky  took 
a  bold  step,  sending  two  batteries  down  into  the  first  position  he  had 


294 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


taken  to  keep  them  in  check.  But  the  Turks  were  not  to  be  denied, 
and,  in  spite  of  the  most  determined  fighting  of  the  Russians,  had 
reoccupied  their  second  position  before  seven.  The  First  brigade  of 
the  Thirty-fifth  division  had  early  inclined  to  the  left,  where  the 
towers  and  houses  of  Plevna  were  visible.  It  was  rash,  for  the 
brigade  was  exposing  its  right  flank  to  the  Turkish  cannon  astride 
of  the  ridge,  but  the  goal  of  Plevna  was  a  keen  temptation.  There 
was  no  thoroughfare,  however.  They  would  not  give  up,  and  they 
could  not  succeed.  They  charged  again  and  again,  and  when  they 
could  charge  no  more  from  sheer  fatigue,  they  stood  and  died,  for 
they  would  not  retire.  The  reserves  came  up,  but  only  to  swell  the 
slaughter.  And  then  the  ammunition  failed,  for  the  carts  had  been 
left  far  behind,  and  all  hope  failed  the  most  sanguine.  Two  com- 
panies of  Russian  infantry  did  indeed  work  round  the  right  flank  of 
the  Turkish  works  and  dodge  into  the  town  of  Plevna,  but  it  was 
like  entering  the  mouth  of  hell.  On  the  heights  all  round,  the  can- 
non smoke  spurted  out,  and  the  vineyard  in  the  rear  of  the  town 
was  alive  with  Turks.  They  left  after  a  very  short  visit,  and  now  all 
hope  of  success  anywhere  was  dead,  nor  did  a  chance  offer  to  make  the 
best  of  defeat.  Shachovsky  had  not  a  man  left  to  cover  the  retreat. 
The  Turks  struck  without  stint.  They  had  the  upper-hand  for 
once,  and  were  determined  to  show  that  they  knew  how  to  make 
the  most  of  it.  They  advanced  in  swarms  through  the  dusk  on 
their  original  first  position,  and  captured  three  Russian  cannon  be- 
fore the  batteries  could  be  withdrawn.  The  Turkish  shells  began 
once  more  to  whistle  over  the  ridge  above  Radisevo  and  fall  into  the 
village  behind,  now  crammed  with  wounded.  The  streams  of 
wounded  wending  their  painful  way  over  the  ridge  were  incessant. 
The  badly  wounded  mostly  lay  where  they  fell.  Later,  in  the 
darkness,  a  baleful  sort  of  Krankentraeger  swarmed  over  the  battle- 
field in  the  shape  of  Bashi-Bazouks,  who  spared  not.  Lingering 
there  on  the  ridge  till  the  moon  rose,  the  staff  could  hear  from  down 
below  on  the  still  night  air  the  cries  of  pain,  the  entreaties  for  mer- 
cy, and  the  yells  of  bloodthirsty  fanatical  triumph.  It  was  indeed 
an  hour  to  wring  the  sternest  heart.  We  stayed  there  to  learn,  if  it 
might  be,  what  troops  were  coming  out  of  the  Valley  of  the  Shadow 
of  Death  below.  Were  there,  indeed,  any  at  all  to  come  ?  It  did 
not  seem  to  be  the  case.  The  Turks  had  our  range  before  dark, 
and  we  could  watch  the  flash  of  flame  over  against  us,  and  then 


THE  BATTLES  AROUND  PLEVNA. 


295 


listen  to  the  scream  of  the  shell  as  it  tore  by  us.  The  sound  of  rifle 
bullets  was  incessant,  and  the  escort  and  the  retreating  wounded 
were  struck.  A  detachment  at  length  began  to  come  straggling  up, 
but  it  will  give  an  idea  of  the  disorganization  to  say  that  when  a 
company  was  told  off  to  cover  somewhat  the  wounded  in  Radisevo, 
it  had  to  be  made  up  of  the  men  of  several  regiments." 

The  battle  was  now  over,  and  the  Russian  defeat  complete.  The 
correspondent  adds : 

"  About  9  o'clock  the  staff  quitted  the  ridge,  leaving  it  littered 
with  groaning  men,  and  moving  gently  lest  we  should  tread  on  the 
prostrate  wounded.  We  lost  our  way  as  we  had  lost  our  army.  "We 
could  find  no  rest  for  the  soles  of  our  feet  by  reason  of  the  alarms  of 
the  Bashi-Bazouks  swarming  in  among  the  scattered  and  retiring  Rus- 
sians. At  length,  at  one  in  the  morning,  having  been  in  the  saddle 
since  six  on  the  previous  morning,  we  turned  into  a  stubble-field,  and 
making  beds  of  the  reaped  gram,  correspondent  and  Cossack  alike 
rested  under  the  stars.  But  we  are  not  even  then  allowed  to  rest. 
Before  four  an  alarm  carne  that  the  Bashi-Bazouks  were  upon  us,  and 
we  had  to  rouse  and  tramp  away.  The  only  protection  of  the  chief  of 
what  in  the  morning  was  a  fine  army  was  now  a  handful  of  wearied 
Cossacks.  About  the  Bashi-Bazouks  there  is  worse  to  tell.  At  night 
they  worked  round  into  Radisevo,  and,  falling  upon  the  wounded 
there,  butchered  them  without  mercy.  Kriidener  sent  word  in  the 
morning  that  he  had  lost  severely,  and  could  make  no  headway,  and 
had  resolved  to  fall  back  on  the  line  of  the  river  Osma,  which  falls 
into  the  Danube  near  Nicopolis.  There  had  been  talk,  his  troops 
being  fresh,  of  renewing  the  attack  to-day  (31st)  with  his  co-operation, 
but  it  is  a  plain  statement  of  fact  that  we  have  no  troops  to  attack 
with.  The  most  moderate  estimate  is  that  we  have  lost  two  regi- 
ments, say  5,000  men,  out  of  our  three  brigades,  a  ghastly  number, 
beating  Eylau  or  Friedland.  This  takes  no  account  of  Kriidener's 
losses.  We,  too,  retire  on  the  Osma  River,  above  Bulgareni,  and 
to  the  best  of  our  weak  strength,  cover  the  bridge  at  Sistova.  One 
can  not,  at  this  moment  of  hurried  confusion,  realize  all  the  possible 
results  of  this  stroke,  so  rashly  courted.  Not  a  Russian  soldier  stands 
between  Tirnova  and  the  victorious  Turkish  army  in  Lovatz  and 
Plevna.  Only  a  weak  division  of  the  Eleventh  corps  stands  between 
Tirnova  and  the  Shumla  army.  I  look  on  Shachovsky's  force  as 
wrecked — as  no  longer  for  this  campaign  to  be  counted  for  a  fight- 


296  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

ing  integer.  It  is  not  ten  days  since  the  Thirtieth  division  crossed 
the  Danube  in  the  pride  of  superb  condition.  Now  what  of  it  is 
left  is  demoralized  and  shattered." 

This  description  of  the  battle  of  Plevna  was  written  by  Mr.  Archi- 
bald Forbes,  of  the  London  Daily  News,  who  spent  more  than  twenty 
hours  in  the  saddle  under  fire.  Riding  with  the  retreating  Russians, 
he  wrote  off-hand,  his  dispatch,  which  was  considered  by  the  London 
critics  the  most  brilliant  war  dispatch  ever  sent  to  any  newspaper. 
The  Russian  authorities  paid  Mr.  Forbes  the  compliment  of  using 
his  dispatch  as  the  official  account  of  the  battle  throughout  the  Em- 
pire. 

Osman  Pasha  did  not  leave  his  position  at  Plevna  after  his  vic- 
tory. The  effect  which  a  pursuit,  even  to  the  Osma  only,  might 
have  produced  upon  the  Russians,  was  shown  by  the  panic  which  was 
occasioned  in  their  ranks  by  a  report  that  the  Turks  were  in  their 
rear.  The  immediate  consequence  of  their  defeat  was  that  the  corps 
of  Gen.  Gourko,  the  important  point  of  Tirnova,  and  even  the  con- 
nections in  the  rear  of  the  army  operating  against  Rasgrad-Shumla 
were  threatened.  It  became  necessary  to  withdraw  the  left  wing  of 
the  latter  force,  so  that  in  the  beginning  of  August,  the  communica- 
tions of  the  Turks  between  Rustchuk  and  Shumla  were  restored,  and 
their  field  troops  centered  around  Rustchuk  advanced  as  far  as  Pisan- 
zi  on  the  Lorn.  The  Russian  headquarters,  which  had  been  for  some 
time  at  Tirnova,  were  moved  back  to  Biela  on  the  31st  of  July,  and 
the  Czar  retired  to  Tsarevitza  on  the  Danube.  The  mobilization  of 
the  Imperial  Guards,  consisting  of  three  divisions  of  infantry  and 
two  of  cavalry,  and  of  several  other  bodies  of  troops,  was  ordered, 
and  a  ukase,  dated  July  22d,  was  promulgated  for  the  mobilization 
of  185,46V  men  of  the  Opoltchenie  or  Landwehr. 

In  the  Dobrudja,  after  the  crossing  of  the  Danube,  the  Russians 
had  comparatively  easy  work.  The  opposition  made  by  the  Turks 
was  very  weak ;  everywhere  they  retreated  before  the  advancing 
Russians  without  risking  an  engagement.  The  Russians  continued 
their  forward  movement  as  far  as  Trajan's  wall,  occupying  the  cities 
of  Kustendji,  Medjidie,  and  Tchernavoda.  Detachments  of  Cossacks 
penetrated  even  south  of  the  wall,  but  were  forced  to  retire  before  a 
body  of  Egyptians.  Gen.  Zimmermann,  however,  continued  to  hold 
the  wall  of  Trajan,  without  assuming  the  offensive  in  any  direction, 
merely  concentrating  his  troops  toward  the  Danube.  On  July  31st, 
a  Turkish  fleet,  consisting  of  seven  ships,  appeared  before  Kustendji, 


THE  -BA  TTLES  ARO  UND  PLE  VNA.  297 

and  shelled  the  place  for  two  hours,  after  which  it  anchored  for  a 
few  days  in  the  harbor,  without  making  any  attempt  at  landing. 
The  few  Cossacks  stationed  at  the  port  remained  quiet  during  the 
whole  period  of  the  presence  of  the  ships. 

After  the  battle  of  Plevna  of  July  30th  and  31st,  comparative 
quiet  reigned  for  a  time  on  the  scene  of  action.  On  August  7th, 
the  Turks  repulsed  an  attack  of  the  Russians  on  Lovatz.  Osman 
Pasha  sent  his  cavalry  on  reconnoissances  as  far  as  Nicopolis.  On 
their  other  front,  that  turned  toward  Rustchuk,  Rasgrad,  and 
Shumla,  the  Russians  evacuated  the  whole  country  east  of  the  Kara 
Lorn  or  Black  Lorn,  while  their  right  wing  was  withdrawn  from 
Osman  Bazar  to  Kesrova  on  the  road  to  Tirnova.  The  Russian 
position  in  the  middle  of  August  was  virtually  as  follows :  The  right 
wing,  consisting  of  three  army  corps,  was  situated  with  its  front  on 
the  line  of  Plevna-Lovatz,  on  both  banks  of  the  Osrna,  leaning  on 
the  right  on  Nicppolis,  which  was  garrisoned  by  the  fourth  Ruma- 
nian division.  The  center,  consisting  of  one  army  corps,  fronting 
toward  the  south  and  stationed  upon  the  line  Tirnova,  Gabrova,  and 
Elena,  was  expected  to  support  General  Gourko,  who,  returning 
from  his  dash  across  the  Balkans,  was  fortifying  himself  in  the 
Shipka  Pass.  The  left  wing,  consisting  of  two  army  corps,  fronted 
on  the  line  of  Shumla,  Rasgrad,  and  Rustchuk,  and  was  stationed 
along  the  Kara  Lorn.  According  to  the  most  trustworthy  reports, 
the  Russians  were  opposed  at  this  time  by  the  following  forces :  Me- 
hemet  Ali  Pasha,  with  70,000  regulars  and  30,000  irregulars,  in  and 
around  Rasgrad,  and  12,000  men  at  Osman  Bazar ;  Suleiman  Pasha, 
on  the  southern  slope  of  the  central  Balkans,  with  15,000  regulars 
and  5,000  irregulars ;  Osman  Pasha,  at  Plevna  and  Lovatz,  with 
30,000  regulars  and  10,000  irregulars,  making  altogether  127,000  men 
and  45,000  irregulars.  In  addition  to  these,  Prince  Hassan  of  Egypt 
had  15,000  men  in  the  Dobrudja,  north  of  Yarna ;  Said  Pasha  had 
25,000  men  in  Silistria  and  Turtukai ;  14,000  men  were  stationed 
around  Nissa  and  Sophia,  and  12,000  men  in  and  around  Widin,  and 
about  7,000  irregulars  were  distributed  with  the  four  last-named 
forces.  Not  including  the  army  of  Rustchuk,  whose  strength  was 
unknown,  the  Turkish  army  in  Bulgaria  at  this  time  amounted  to 
about  193,000  men  and  52,000  irregulars.  But  in  the  beginning  of 
August  some  change  had  taken  place  in  the  disposition  of  these 
troops,  as  the  forces  in  Nissa  and  Sophia  had  been  directed  to  join 
Osman  Pasha  at  Plevna.  It  seems  more  than  doubtful,  however. 


298  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

that  these  troops  should  have  increased  his  force  to  70,000  men,  as 
he  stated  himself.  The  only  reinforcements  which  the  Turks  re- 
ceived in  Bulgaria  during  the  month  of  August  were  several  thou- 
sand regulars,  transported  by  vessels  from  the  Caucasus  to  Varna, 
and  several  thousand  men  (ten  thousand,  according  to  Turkish  re- 
ports), which  were  sent  from  Philippopolis  to  Suleiman  Pasha.  The 
operations  during  August  consisted  mainly  in  a  fierce  struggle  for 
the  Shipka  Pass.  In  turning  their  attention  chiefly  to  this  pass,  and 
in  leaving  the  task  of  storming  it  to  their  center  only,  while  their 
right  and  left  wings,  both  of  them  stronger  than  the  center,  were 
left  idle,  the  Turks  gave  to  the  hard-pushed  Russians  what  they 
needed  more  than  all  else,  time.  Every  day  gained  brought  the  re- 
inforcements nearer,  which  were  on  the  march  from  Poland,  the 
shores  of  the  Black  Sea,  and  from  St.  Petersburg.  Even  before  the 
Shipka  Pass  was  attacked,  it  seemed  for  a  while  as  if  Suleiman  Pasha 
would  cross  the  mountains  to  the  east  of  it,  while  leaving  a  consider- 
able force  at  Kasanlik.  On  the  15th,  several  Turkish  detachments 
started  from  the  village  Hainkoi  to  cross  the  mountains  by  the  Hain- 
koi  Pass,  the  same  pass  which  General  Gourko  had  used.  They 
were,  however,  stopped  by  the  39th  infantry  regiment,  and  left  the 
pass  on  the  17th.  The  Russians  had  not  expected  to  see  the  Shipka 
Pass  attacked  from  the  front.  All  the  orders  issued  by  the  Grand 
Duke  commander,  clearly  showed  that  he  anticipated  attacks  from 
the  Plevna-Lovatz  position  on  the  one  hand,  and  from  Rasgrad  and 
Osmaii  Bazar  on  the  other,  at  the  same  time.  Suleiman  Pasha  was 
expected,  by  turning  the  Shipka  Pass  on  the  east,  to  join  hands  with 
Mehemet  Ali's  army,  advancing  from  Osman  Bazar.  It  was  reason- 
ably supposed  that  by  a  simultaneous  advance  of  the  different  Turk- 
ish forces  north  of  the  Balkans,  the  pass  would  fall  into  their  hands 
without  a  great  struggle.  But  the  Turks  disappointed  all  reasonable 
expectations,  and  while  the  two  Turkish  wings  remained  almost  in- 
active, the  center,  under  Suleiman  Pasha,  advanced  to  the  attack  of 
the  Shipka  Pass.  After  having  occupied  the  village  of  Shipka  on 
the  19th,  he  assailed  the  fortified  positions  to  the  north  of  it  on  the 
21st.  The  Russians,  not  suspecting  the  intention  of  the  enemy,  had 
left  but  a  small  garrison  in  the  pass,  consisting  of  the  Bulgarian 
Legion  and  an  infantry  regiment  of  the  9th  division.  The  Russian 
position,  however,  was  very  strong.  The  correspondent  of  the  Lon- 
don Times  described  it  as  follows : 

'•  The  Russian  position  is  extremely  strong—in  fact,  if  it  were 


•  i&U 


THE  BATTLES  AROUND  PLEVNA. 


301 


properly  defended  it  might  be  held  against  overwhelming  numbers. 
But  the  Russians  have  either  not  had  time,  or  do  not  intend  to  hold 
the  pass,  for  they  have  only  fifteen  guns  in  position,  and  these,  I  imag- 
ine, from  the  broken  pieces  of  shell  that  I  have  seen,  are  ordinary 
field-pieces.  The  position  of  these  guns  is  almost  inaccessible  from 
the  southern  side,  or  where  the  Turks  are  attacking,  as  one-half  of 
them  are  placed  on  a  kind  of  buttress  of  rock,  commanding  the 
road,  and  the  remainder  are  divided  into  three  small  earthworks 
that  enfilade  the  approach  to  the  base  of  this  rock,  and  also  sweep 
the  broad  glacis  of  green  turf  which  flanks  the  road  on  both  sides. 
For  500  yards  on  all  sides  of  the  Russian  position  there  is  no  kind 
of  shelter,  and  the  only  way  in  which  these  works  can  be  carried  is 
by  assault." 

The  entire  Russian  force,  in  all  probability,  did  not  exceed  4,000 
men.  They  nevertheless  repulsed  the  numerous  attacks  of  the 
Turks,  made  with  great  force  and  energy.  On  the  same  day  Osman 
Pasha  made  a  feint  from  Lovatz  on  Selvi,  in  order  to  prevent  assist- 
ance being  sent  from  that  point  to  the  pass.  On  the  22d  the  Turks 
took  the  Russians  on  the  flank,  so  that  on  the  23d  the  brave  garrison 
found  itself  in  very  close  quarters,  having  been  compelled  to  give 
up  some  of  the  ground  held,  and  having  suffered  considerable  loss. 
At  this  critical  moment  the  Russians  received  considerable  rein- 
forcements, and  General  Radetzky  himself  hastened  on  from  Tir- 
nova  to  assume  the  command,  so  that  on  the  evening  of  the  24th 
the  Russians  had  regained  all  their  lost  positions.  The  losses  on 
both  sides  were  very  great ;  but  while  Suleiman  continued  to  send 
fresh  troops  to  the  front,  the  Russians  also  received  considerable  re- 
inforcements from  Tirnova  on  the  25th  and  the  following  days,  so 
that  although  the  struggle  was  renewed  from  time  to  time,  General 
Radetzky,  at  the  close  of  the  month,  was  in  complete  possession  of 
the  pass.  The  correspondent  of  the  London  Times  gives  the  fol- 
lowing description  of  the  Russian  position  and  the  operations  in  the 


"  General  Radetzky  occupies  the  positions  held  so  manfully  dur- 
ing the  twelve  days  in  which  the  Moslem  host  daslied  themselves  so 
bravely,  but  fruitlessly  against  his  intrenched  lines.  His  advanced 
center  holds  Mount  St.  Nicholas,  the  highest  point  in  the  Shipka 
Pass ;  his  right  and  left  flanks  rest  upon  two  crests,  which  stand  a 
little  to  the  northward  of  that  point.  His  line  forms  a  very  obtuse 

angle,  the  vertex  of  which  is  cut  off  by  the  central  position  at 
16 


302  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Mount  St.  Nicholas.  To  his  extreme  right  and  left  are  ridges  ex- 
tending parallel  to  the  Russian  wings,  and  running  northward  nearly 
to  the  Gabrova  road,  the  only  line  of  communication  of  the  Russian 
troops.  The  Turks,  having  vastly  superior  numbers,  extended  their 
flanks  down  these  last-mentioned  ridges,  and  nearly  enveloped  the 
Russian  positions,  so  nearly  accomplishing  this  result,  that  they 
swept  the  Gabrova  road  in  many  places  with  musketry  fire.  Noth- 
ing but  absolute  want  of  generalship  on  the  part  of  the  Turkish 
commander  prevented  this  double  flank  movement  being  so  extended 
as  completely  to  cut  off  the  Russians  from  both  food  and  water  be- 
fore the  arrival  of  General  Radetzky  with  his  timely  reinforcements. 
"When  Radetzky  came  up  on  the  23d  of  August  he  at  once  charged 
the  Turkish  positions  on  his  flanks,  and  carried  them,  in  this  way 
overcoming  to  a  great  extent  the  difficulty  of  providing  his  men 
with  food  and  water.  Between  the  two  lines  held  by  the  opposing 
forces  are  deep  valleys,  which  might  almost  be  called  ravines,  and 
the  Russian  troops  had  to  go  up  and  down  the  steep  sides  of  these 
ravines  to  reach  their  enemies. 

"The  Russians  now  hold  the  crest  formerly  occupied  by  the 
Turks  on  their  right  wing,  while  the  latter  have  fallen  back  to  the 
next  ridge,  where  they  keep  up  a  desultory  fire  with  the  Russian 
pickets.  In  the  rear  of  Mount  St.  Nicholas  is  a  second  peak  about 
half  a  mile  from  it,  which  forms  a  second  center,  so  to  speak,  both 
of  them,  however,  running  into  the  line  of  heights  held  by  the  two 
wings  of  the  Russian  army  in  the  Shipka  Pass.  Strong  batteries 
have  been  constructed  upon  all  the  Russian  heights,  and  they  are 
practically  impregnable. 

"  A  General  officer  told  me  to-day,  that  during  the  twelve  days' 
operations  in  the  Shipka  Pass  the  Turks  made  one  hundred  and 
four  distinct  aggressive  movements.  From  this  some  idea  may  be 
formed  of  the  enormous  losses  which  they  must  have  suffered. 
They  made  every  assault  with  the  most  desperate  courage,  and  were 
compelled  to  move  up  precipitous  hill-sides,  defended  on  the  sum- 
mits by  intrenchments." 

The  fighting  throughout  was  of  the  most  sanguinary  character, 
the  Russians  particularly  performing  deeds  of  valor,  which  were 
described  as  truly  wonderful  by  eye-witnesses.  The  correspondent 
of  the  London  News,  in  describing  the  fighting,  said  : 

"  Occasionally,  at  some  point  the  Russians  would  be  hurled  clean 
back  out  of  the  wood  altogether.  I  could  mark  the  Turks  follow- 


THE  BATTLES  AROUND  PLEVNA. 


303 


ing  them  eagerly  to  its  edge,  lying  down  while  pouring  out  a  galling 
fire.  The  troops  who  were  charged  with  making  this  front  attack 
merely  succeeded  in  preventing  the  Turkish  efforts  to  work  round 
to  the  Russian  rear.  It  was  therefore  decided  at  noon  to  deliver  a 
counter  flank  movement.  Two  battalions,  executing  this  move- 
ment, had  to  advance  under  a  tremendous  fire  from  Turkish  mount- 
ain guns.  The  fighting  on  the  Turkish  front  and  flank  lasted  for 
a  full  hour,  but  at  last  the  Turks  were  seen  withdrawing  their  bat- 
tery of  mountain  guns  near  the  right  flank,  which  was  a  sure  sign 
that  danger  menaced  it  if  it  stayed  longer.  Their  left  battery  fol- 
lowed their  example,  which  showed  the  Russians  gained  the  ridge 
on  the  Turkish  left  also.  There  remained  but  the  central  peak  of 
the  Turkish  positions.  That  carried,  the  ridge  would  be  ours,  and 
our  right  flank  would  be  set  free  from  the  dangerous  pressure  on  it." 

Owing  to  the  inactivity  of  Osman  Pasha,  who  did  not  undertake 
anything  beyond  the  feint  on  Selvi,  General  Radetzky  was  enabled 
to  bring  up  nearly  his  entire  army  corps  to  the  defense  of  the  posi- 
tion, while  the  Second  infantry  division  was  ordered  from  the  lower 
Yantra  to  the  pass.  This  division  went  to  Selvi,  where  it  replaced 
the  Ninth,  which  had  hurried  on  to  the  scene  of  action.  Mehemet 
Ali  on  the  Rasgrad  and  Eski  Djuma  line  did  as  little  as  Osman  Pasha 
to  assist  Suleiman  Pasha.  There  were  indeed  engagements,  on 
August  22d,  at  Karakoi,  on  the  Upper  Kara  Lorn,  and  on  August 
23d,  at  Kisilar  and  Yaslar,  between  the  troops  of  Mehemet  Ali  and 
the  Thirteenth  Russian  army  corps;  but  these  actions  were  only 
casual  ones,  not  forming  parts  of  any  preconcerted  plan. 

Rustchuk  was  bombarded  during  August  from  both  sides,  from 
Giurgevo  and  from  the  Bulgarian  side  of  the  river,  but  little  im- 
pression was  made.  A  weak  movement  from  Rustchuk  against 
Dolob,  five  miles  from  the  fortress  on  the  Lorn,  was  easily  repulsed 
by  the  Russians.  The  last  days  of  August  saw  a  resumption  of  hos- 
tilities along  the  entire  line.  On  August  30th,  both  of  the  Turkish 
armies  on  either  side  of  the  Russians  assumed  the  offensive.  On  the 
left  wing  of  the  Russian  army,  commanded  by  the  Czarevitch,  a  battle 
was  fought  at  Karasan,  twenty-five  miles  north-west  of  Osman  Bazar, 
which  resulted  in  a  victory  for  the  Turks.  Three  Turkish  divisions, 
including  the  Egyptian  division  under  Prince  Hassan,  which  had 
been  ordered  up  from  the  Dobrudja,  advanced  on  both  banks  of  the 
Kara  Lorn  and  drove  back  the  Russian  troops,  four  thousand  men 
with  ten  guns,  after  severe  fighting,  with  heavy  losses  on  both  sides. 


304  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

At  the  same  time  sorties  of  the  garrison  of  Rustchuk  compelled  the 
Twelfth  army  corps  to  remain  at  the  Lower  Lorn.  The  correspond- 
ent of  the  London  Times  gives  the  following  description  of  the 
battle : 

"  Early  this  morning  Nedjib  Pasha  advanced  from  Adakoi,  near 
Rasgrad,  with  three  brigades,  two  batteries  of  artillery,  two  squad- 
rons of  cavalry,  and  one  brigade  of  infantry  reserve.  Mehemet 
Ali  and  Prince  Hassan  took  up  a  position  with  their  staff  on  a  high 
hill  immediately  north  of  Yenikoi,  which  commands  an  uninter- 
rupted view  from  Rasgrad  to  beyond  Osman  Bazar.  The  Russians 
from  their  batteries  behind  Sadana  opened  fire  about  nine  o'clock 
on  the  advancing  Turks.  Nedjib  steadily  advanced,  and  entered 
the  burning  village  of  Sadana  by  half-past  eleven  o'clock.  The  re- 
treating Russians  were  hotly  pressed.  They  retired  precipitately 
to  Karasan,  where  they  made  a  vigorous  stand.  Savfet  Pasha 
created  a  diversion  by  attacking  Haidarkoi.  The  Russians  had  a 
battery  of  three  guns  to  their  right,  near  Haidarkoi.  They  made 
splendid  practice  at  the  advancing  Turks  and  Egyptians,  but  these 
cleverly  opened  out  and  advanced  to  the  right  and  left  of  the  vil- 
lage in  a  really  workmanlike  style.  The  engagement  now  became 
general,  and  extended  over  some  fifteen  miles.  A  heavy  and  con- 
tinued roll  of  fire  of  skirmishers  was  heard  along  all  the  ridges  from 
Basisler  to  near  Sadana.  By  four  o'clock  Karasan  was  in  flames. 
The  Russians  gradually  gave  way,  and  the  Turks  redoubled  the 
energy  of  their  attack.  At  five  o'clock  the  enemy  were  scampering 
out  of  Haidarkoi,  and  horses  were  trotting  up  to  take  the  guns  out 
of  the  battery.  The  Turkish  battery  was  making  splendid  practice, 
and  fired  just  as  the  guns  were  taken  off.  One  gun  was  struck  with 
the  last  shell.  The  Turks  cheered,  and  dashed  through  the  blazing 
village  and  away  to  the  left  to  Popkoi  like  a  pack  of  hounds.  The 
Russian  camps  were  hastily  cleared  out,  two  guns  covering  their 
retreat  and  making  excellent  practice.  But  the  Turks  and  Egyp- 
tians still  scampered  over  the  ground  in  fine  style.  The  Russians 
were  now  in  full  retreat  in  every  direction,  and  by  sunset  the  Turks 
had  proved  for  the  second  time,  not  only  capable  of  meeting  the 
Russians  in  the  open,  but  also  of  driving  them  from  their  strongly- 
intrenched  positions." 

On  the  Russian  right  wing,  fronting  toward  Plevna,  General 
Zotoff  repulsed  a  Turkish  attack  on  Pelisat  on  August  31st.  The 
battle  is  described  by  the  Daily  News  correspondent  as  follows : 


THE  BA  TTLES  ARO  UND  PLE  VNA.  305 

"  Osman  Pasha's  attack  on  the  Russian  positions  at  Pelisat  and 
vdcinity  was  one  of  the  most  hardly-fought  battles  of  the  war.  The 
Turks,  early  in  the  fight,  captured  a  Russian  redoubt,  one  mile  in 
front  of  Pelisat.  In  the  course  of  one  hour  this  redoubt  was  taken 
by  the  Turks,  retaken  by  the  Russians,  and  taken  again  by  the 
Turks.  The  Russian  left  wing  was  driven  back  on  Pelisat,  in  front 
of  which  trenches  had  been  dug  and  were  lined  with  troops.  The 
Turks  advanced  as  though  determined  to  drive  our  left  out  of 
Pelisat  and  turn  it.  The  Turks  began  to  descend  the  hill  in  that 
direction,  not  with  a  rush,  but  leisurely,  and  without  firing ;  not  in 
masses  or  lines,  but  scattered  and  diffused.  They  came  down  about 
half  way  in  this  manner,  the  Russian  artillery  tearing  up  the  groups 
all  the  time  in  the  most  savage  manner.  The  Russian  infantry  fire, 
which  had  fov  the  last  five  minutes  been  very  heavy  about  Zgalince, 
now  began  to  roll  along  the  hill-crest  in  our  direction,  and  the 
Turks,  who  were  just  coming  into  range,  began  to  drop  rapidly. 
The  Turkish  advance  now  veered  to  the  left,  and  went  at  the  Rus- 
sian trenches  on  the  crest  of  the  hills  between  Pelisat  and  Zgalince 
with  a  shout,  opening  fire  at  the  same  time.  The  Turks  descended 
into  a  little  hollow  and  were  lost  to  sight  for  a  time,  while  the  Rus- 
sian trenches  flamed  and  smoked,  and  a  storm  of  balls  was  poured 
into  the  advancing  Turks.  This  must  have  lasted  fifteen  or  twenty 
minutes,  during  which  time  fearful  loss  of  life  must  have  occurred. 
Then  we  saw  the  Turks  begin  to  withdraw,  carrying  off  their 
wounded.  The  Turks  had  no  sooner  withdrawn  from  the  Russian 
fire  than  they  formed  and  advanced  again.  Many  dead  bodies  of 
Turks  were  found  within  ten  feet  of  the  Russian  trenches.  The 
little  slope,  on  the  crest  of  which  the  trenches  were  situated,  was 
literally  covered  with  dead.  I  counted  seven  on  a  space  of  not 
more  than  ten  feet  square.  The  battle  here  was  terrible,  but  the 
Turks  were  again  repulsed.  It  will  hardly  be  believed  that  they 
went  at  it  again,  and  yet  they  did  so.  It  seemed  madness,  because 
we  could  see  that  the  Russian  fire  never  slackened  an  instant,  and 
that  the  Russian  line  never  wavered,  while  reserves  were  waiting 
behind  ready  to  fall  in  at  the  least  sign  of  wavering.  This  scene 
of  carnage  was  again  repeated,  but  only  lasted  a  moment.  The 
Turks,  completely  broken,  withdrew  sullenly,  firing,  and  carrying 
off  their  wounded  and  many  of  their  dead.  They  fell  back  on  the 
redoubt  which  they  had  first  taken,  apparently  with  the  intention 
of  holding  it,  but  they  were  not  allowed  to  remain  long  there. 


306     .  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Another  attack  on  the  Russian  center  had  been  equally  as  unsuc- 
cessful as  that  on  the  Russian  trenches  on  the  left.  The  Russians 
pursued  the  retreating  Turks  with  a  murderous  fire.  Then  six 
companies  went  at  them  with  bayonet  and  swept  them  out  of  the 
redoubt  like  a  whirlwind.  At  four  o'clock  the  Turks  were  in  re- 
treat everywhere,  and  the  Russians  occupied  the  whole  of  their  first 
position,  besides  pursuing  the  Turks  a  short  distance  with  cavalry. 
The  Russians  were  about  twenty  thousand  strong.  Their  loss  is 
estimated  at  five  hundred,  and  the  Turkish  loss  at  two  thousand 
killed  and  wounded." 

On  September  3d,  Gen.  Skobeleff,  by  a  brilliant  stroke,  recaptured 
Lovatz,  which  had  been  in  Osman  Pasha's  hands  for  five  weeks. 
The  battle  was  described  by  eye-witnesses  as  very  severe,  and  the 
losses  on  both  sides  were  very  great.  The  loss  of  Lovatz  interrupted 
the  direct  communication  between  Osman  Pasha  and  Suleiman  Pasha, 
while  it  enabled  the  Russians  gradually  to  surround  Osman  Pasha's 
position  at  Plevna,  and  to  cut  off  all  his  communications. 

On  August  31st,  Mehemet  All's  headquarters  were  at  Yenikoi,  on 
the  Lorn,  while  on  the  same  day  the  Russians  held  the  left  bank  of 
the  river  as  far  south  as  Gagova.  Mehemet  Ali  quietly  holding  his 
positions  on  the  Lorn,  concentrated  all  his  forces  on  its  right  bank 
toward  Tenikoi,  while  on  the  left  bank  the  Thirteenth  Russian  corps 
was  stationed  on  the  line  of  Ablava  and  Kechlova,  near  Biela.  The 
Twelfth  corps  remained  before  Rustchuk,  on  the  Lower  Lorn.  Some 
detachments  of  this  corps  had  an  engagement  at  Kadikoi  with  troops 
from  Rustchuk,  in  which  the  Turks  were  forced  to  retreat.  In  the 
meantime,  Mehemet  Ali,  remaining  in  his  posts  on  the  Lorn,  and 
witKout  pursuing  the  advantage  he  had  gained,  ordered  Achmet 
Eyub  Pasha  to  advance  from  his  position  at  Rasgrad.  On  Sept.  6th, 
Eyub  Pasha  attacked  the  Russian  positions  at  Kechlova.  The  Turk- 
ish forces  were  greatly  superior  to  the  Russians  in  point  of  numbers 
and  were  constantly  receiving  accessions.  The  Russians  fought  with 
great  bravery,  but  were  finally  compelled  to  retreat  beyond  the  Lorn. 
The  correspondent  of  the  London  Standard,  at  Shunila,  stated  that 
the  battle  was  a  very  fierce  one,  and  lasted  fully  ten  hours.  On  the 
7th,  the  Turks  took  Kadikoi  and  forced  the  Russians  to  cross  to  the 
left  bank  of  the  Lorn  at  this  point  also,  so  that  the  entire  right  bank 
was  cleared  of  Russians.  On  the  8th,  Mehemet  Ali  crossed  the  river 
with  three  divisions,  and  began  to  advance  slowly  toward  the 
Yantra. 


THE  BATTLES  AROUND  PLEVNA. 


307 


Osman  Pasha,  in  the  meanwhile,  had  transformed  his  position 
around  Plevna  into  a  fortress  of  unusual  strength,  against  which  sin- 
gle attacks  were  of  no  use,  and  which  could  only  be  reduced  by  a 
long  and  protracted  siege.  The  correspondent  of  the  Daily  News, 
in  speaking  of  the  situation,  said :  ,  "It  is  obvious  that  the  fortifica- 
tions have  been  much  strengthened  since  the  last  battle.  The  longer 
one  looks  at  the  place,  the  more  thoroughly  does  one  feel  the  tough- 
ness of  the  Russian  task.  The  position  must  be  attacked  as  a  whole 
and  taken  as  a  whole.  If  the  northern  ridge  were  taken  and  occu- 
pied, the  position  of  the  central  swell  would  not  be  materially  im- 
paired. Suppose  that  a  lodgment  was  effected  on  the  central  swell, 
that  lodgment  would  be  commanded  by  the  northern  ridge  and  the 
redoubts  on  the  south  of  the  town.  All  that  is  wanted  to  make  the 
Turkish  position  virtually  impregnable  is  the  fortification  of  the  ridge 
in  front  of  Radisevo." 

The  Russians  assigned  to  operate  before  Plevna  had  also  not  been 
idle,  but  had  received  considerable  reinforcements,  including  three 
Rumanian  divisions.  The  combined  Russian  and  Rumanian  forces 
were  placed  under  the  command  of  Prince  Charles  of  Rumania. 

A  series  of  battles  was  begun  around  Plevna  on  the  7th  of  Septem- 
ber, which  lasted  for  a  week,  and  were  not  exceeded  in  sanguinary 
character  by  any  of  the  fierce  conflicts  which  had  taken  place  for  the 
Shipka  Pass.  The  Russians  began  the  attack  with  a  furious  can- 
nonade. This  was  kept  up  until  the  llth,  when  the  Russians  pro- 
ceeded to  storm  the  Turkish  positions.  An  idea  of  the  fighting  may 
be  gained  from  the  account  of  the  correspondent  of  the  Daily  JVews, 
of  the  operations  on  the  8th : 

"  When  the  cannonade  recommenced  this  morning  it  was  not  easy 
at  first  to  recognize  that  the  Russians  had  gained  any  advantage  the 
day  before.  The  parapet  of  the  G-rivitza  redoubt  had  been  a  good 
deal  jagged  by  Russian  shells,  but  under  cover  of  the  night  all  its 
defects  had  been  made  good,  and  it  looked  as  trim  as  if  never  a  shot 
had  been  fired  at  it.  But  the  Russians  had,  during  the  night,  gained 
a  large  slice  of  ground  in  the  direction  of  Grivitza,  and  a  battery  of 
siege  guns  had  been  built  on  an  elevation  within  easy  range  of  the 
redoubt.  At  sunrise  that  battery  came  into  action  in  rear  of  the  ad1-- 
vanced  battery,  and  sent  its  fire  sweeping  down  into  the  redoubt,, 
which  could  not  reply  to  the  siege  battery,  the  range  being  too  long ; 
so  it  pounded  away  at  the  field  batteries  on  the  ridge,  but  the  prae* 
tice  was  not  good,  and  few  casualties  occurred.  The  Russian  siege 


308  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

battery  made  admirable  practice  at  the  Grivitza  redoubt,  which  is  the 
key  to  the  position,  and  instead  of  spreading  their  fire,  the  .Russians 
should  have  concentrated  upon  it  the  whole  weight  of  the  bombard- 
ment. As  it  is,  they  may  bombard  it  for  a  week  and  after  all  not 
succeed  in  taking  it.  The  assault  was  intended  to  begin  yesterday 
afternoon  at  5  o'clock,  but  owing  to  delays  the  troops  were  not  in 
position  by  the  appointed  time.  Everywhere  now  the  infantry  is  in 
position  waiting  for  the  word. 

"  Toward  noon  the  Russian  infantry  pushed  forward  in  skirmish- 
ing order,  driving  back  the  outlying  Turks ;  the  artillery  followed 
and  came  into  action  at  short  range.  The  Turkish  return  fire,  chiefly 
directed  at  the  Russian  first  line  of  artillery,  was  very  heavy,  but  lit- 
tle harm  was  done.  Further  on  the  left,  to  the  crest  of  the  range 
beyond  Radisevo,  which  was  one  array  of  field  batteries,  the  firing 
was  very  heavy,  the  Turkish  shells  doing  great  damage  among  the 
gunners,  and  falling  behind  among  the  infantry  on  the  reverse  slope 
and  in  Radisevo.  At  three  o'clock  the  Russians  advanced  toward  the 
Turkish  positions,  and  continued  to  fire  somewhat  slackly.  The  fire 
must  have  reached  into  Plevna." 

On  the  9th,  the  Turks  undertook  a  sortie  against  the  Russian  left 
wing,  but  were  forced  to  retreat  with  considerable  loss.  The  Ru- 
manians then  advanced  close  up  to  the  redoubts  of  the  enemy.  In 
the  evening  the  Russian  siege  batteries  were  brought  into  a  more 
favorable  position. 

The  morning  of  the  llth,  the  day  intended  for  the  assault,  broke 
with  rain,  which  settled  down  into  a  dense  mist,  through  which  ob- 
jects were  invisible  at  a  distance  of  one  hundred  yards.  The  Daily 
News  correspondent  gives  the  following  description  of  the  battle, 
as  witnessed  by  him  from  the  heights  in  front  of  Radisevo  : 

"  About  ten  A.M.  the  fog  lifted  somewhat,  and  at  that  time  the  Gri- 
vitza redoubt  was  still  alive,  although  its  fire  could  not  be  called  brisk. 
To  our  left,  near  the  Lovatz  and  Plevna  road,  there  were  occasional 
intermittent  bursts  of  infantry  fire.  Soon  after  ten  o'clock  occurred 
an  ominous  lull  in  the  firing.  Of  this  the  Turks  jauntily  took  ad- 
vantage to  come  out  from  behind  the  parapets  and  stroll  about  the 
glacis  with  the  utmost  nonchalance.  Then  the  fog  came  down  again, 
veiling  everything  and  hiding  everything.  At  eleven  precisely  a 
furious  musketry  fire  suddenly  burst  out  on  our  left  from  the  Rus- 
sians pushing  their  way  out  of  the  gap  through  the  passes  of  the 
Lovatz-Plevna  road  and  against  the  redoubt  on  the  summit  of  an  iso- 


STORMING    OF    THE    GRIVITZA    REDOUBT    BY    THE    ROUMANIANS. 


THE  BA  TTLES  ARO  UND  PLE  VNA.  3  !  l 

lated  mamelon,  south-east  of  the  town  of  Plevna.  The  Turks,  so  far 
as  could  be  judged  from  the  sound,  seemed  to  be  in  great  measure 
reserving  their  fire  until  the  Russians  came  to  close  quarters  with 
them,  as  everything  was  invisible  at  a  distance  of  twenty  yards.  This 
also  applies  to  their  artillery  fire,  although  the  Russian  batteries  con- 
tinued furiously  to  shell  the  Turkish  positions. 

"  About  noon  the  fog  lifted  somewhat,  but  fell  again.  During  the 
interval  the  cannon  in  the  Turkish  second  position  could  be  seen 
firing  hard  in  the  direction  of  the  hostile  musketry  fire.  After  the  fog 
again  fell,  one  thing  became  certain  from  the  sound  of  the  firing, 
that  the  infantry  fighting  had  a  tendency  to  retrograde  from  the 
Turkish  front,  moving  further  to  the  left  and  nearer  to  the  fighting 
just  above  the  western  edge  of  the  village  of  Radisevo.  Exactly 
along  the  space  held  by  Prince  Shachovsky's  staff  as  the  foremost 
line  on  the  night  of  the  30th  of  July,  I  found  several  batteries  of 
Russian  field  artillery  in  steady  action  against  the  first  and  second 
Turkish  position  on  the  central  swell,  a  little  to  the  right  and  rear 
of  the  infantry  still  engaged  in  desultory  fighting.  The  commander 
of  a  battery  told  us,  with  an  assumption  of  indifference,  that  the  fight- 
ing which  was  dying  out  was  merely  f  orepost  work  to  clear  the  way 
for  a  grand  assault  against  the  redoubt  on  the  isolated  mamelon, 
which  was  to  be  made  in  the  afternoon,  but  with  a  glass  I  could  dis- 
cern on  the  slopes  leading  up  to  the  mamelon  Russian  dead  and 
wounded  lying  about  sadly  thick.  Successive  bodies  of  Turks  were 
streaming  down  the  slope  of  the  mamelon  against  the  huddled  mass 
of  Russians,  retiring  seemingly  on  the  shelter  trenches  athwart  the 
mouth  of  the  road  ravine,  and  ascending  the  slopes  to  our  immediate 
right.  It  was  also  clear  that  Gen.  Skobeleff  had  attacked  the  re- 
doubt and  covered  way  due  east  from  the  isolated  mamelon.  Yet 
further  to  the  left  on  the  extreme  westward  of  Radisevo  ridge  skir- 
mishing was  going  on,  but  the  Turks  presented  an  obstinate  front,  and 
fired  steadily  from  shelter  trenches.  This  was  at  two  o'clock,  and  for 
nearly  two  hours  little  forepost  affairs  of  no  consequence  went  on." 

The  operations  in  other  parts  of  the  field  were  described  as  fol- 
lows by  the  London  Times : 

"  At  12 :  50  P.M.  one  brigade  of  Gen.  Zotoff's  corps,  supported  by 
another,  attacked  the  center  redoubt  on  the  south  side,  one  and  a 
half  miles  from  Radisevo.  The  attack  was  repulsed  by  a  rifle  fire, 
after  lasting  ninety  minutes.  It  was  renewed  again  at  4:  P.M.  Twelve 
battalions  of  Russians  advanced  with  the  most  splendid  and  devoted 


3I2 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


bravery,  right  up  to  the  ditch,  carrying  scaling  ladders.  They  sur- 
rounded the  redoubt  on  three  sides,  and  hung  on  to  it  magnificently. 
At  4 : 45  o'clock  they  were  actually  in  the  redoubt,  but  nothing 
mortal  could  face  the  fire  from  the  repeating-rifles.  They  were 
destroyed  by  hundreds  at  a  few  paces.  At  4  :  52  the  survivors  fell 
slowly  back.  The  Rumanians  at  the  same  time,  under  the  personal 
observation  of  the  Emperor,  three  times  assaulted  the  most  salient 
central  redoubt  lower  down  than  Grivitza,  but  were  always  beaten 
back.  Their  scaling-ladder  parties  were  killed  on  the  counterscaip 
of  the  ditch  to  the  last  officer  and  man.  At  5  P.M.  the  assault  had 
been  repulsed  along  the  whole  line,  and  very  few  reserves  remained 
in  hand.  News  was  brought  the  Czar  at  daybreak  on  Wednesday 
that  at  7  o'clock  on  Tuesday  evening  two  fresh  Russian  brigades  had 
carried  the  redoubt  where  the  Rumanians  had  been  repulsed  in  the 
afternoon,  and  after  sustaining  a  counter  attack  from  the  Turks, 
followed  them  up  and  took  the  next  redoubt  also. 

"  The  first  redoubt  which  was  captured  partially,  commands  the 
rest,  and  can,  with  a  little  spade-work,  be  converted  into  a  means  of 
approaching  all  the  rest  in  turn.  A  great  failure  was  therefore 
remedied  at  the  eleventh  hour.  The  Archangel  regiment  achieved 
the  greatest  feat.  Col.  Schmetler,  an  Aide-de-camp  of  the  Emperor, 
was  shot  dead  as  he  planted  the  colors  on  the  parapet  with  his  own 
hand.  I  estimated  the  forces  engaged  at  about  57,000  on  the 
Russo-Rumanian  side,  against  from  50,000  to  70,000  Turks.  The 
valor  of  the  Russian  troops  is  the  only  thing  to  be  praised,  as  the 
attack  was  unskillfully  directed,  and  the  waste  of  life  unnecessary. 
The  Turks  were  very  skillfully  handled.  They  must  have  lost  some 
men  in  their  two  sallies  in  the  open  ;  otherwise  they  were  completely 
covered  and  lay  close  till  the  moment  of  assault." 

From  this  report  it  appears  that  the  Russians  again  committed  the 
blunder  which  lost  for  them  the  first  battle  of  Plevna,  and  the  same 
charges  were  made  as  to  the  inefficiency  of  the  leaders. 

On  the  morning  of  the  12th,  no  further  direct  attacks  were  under- 
taken by  the  Russians,  but  a  continuous  bombardment  of  the  fortifi- 
cations as  well  as  of  the  town  was  kept  up.  The  Turks  did  not 
respond  to  this  fire  very  strongly  ;  but  in  the  afternoon  they  under- 
took, on  their  part,  a  series  of  attacks  on  the  Russian  left  wing, 
which  threatened  them  in  the  rear.  Five  times  Gen.  Skobeleff 
repulsed  these  attacks,  but  at  the  sixth  attack  he  was  forced  to 
evacuate  the  two  redoubts  on  the  Lovatz  road  captured  the  day 


THE  BA  TTLES  ARO  UND  PLE  VNA.  3  x  3 

before,  so  that  only  the  redoubt  at  Grivitza  remained  in  the  hands 
of  the  Russians. 

The  correspondent  of  the  London  Times,  in  speaking  of  this 
position,  said : 

"  On  the  evening  of  the  llth,  after  the  Russians  had  failed  three 
times  in  attempting  to  take  the  redoubt  at  the  western  extremity  of 
the  Plevna  valley,  Skobeleff  succeeded  in  driving  the  Turks  out  of 
the  double  redoubt,  and  established  himself  in  their  place.  This 
work  is  situated  between  the  Sophia  and  Lovatz  roads,  and  was  cap- 
tured by  Skobeleff  from  the  westward.  He  immediately  asked  for 
reinforcements,  and  continued  to  do  so  in  vain  until  the  evening  of 
the  12th,  when  the  shattered  remains  of  a  regiment  which  had  suf- 
fered severely  the  day  before,  were  sent  to  him.  Shortly  afterward 
two  other  battalions  were  sent,  but  this  style  of  reinforcement  was 
like  a  drop  in  the  ocean ;  and  the  Turks  becoming  aware  of  the  fact 
that  Skobeleff  had  not  been  properly  supported,  made  a  detour  round 
the  hill  and  assaulted  the  redoubt  with  an  overwhelming  force  of 
infantry.  Five  times  they  were  hurled  back  by  Skobeleff 's  men, 
but  the  sixth  assault  was  too  much  for  the  overburdened  garrison, 
and  the  Turks  recaptured  the  redoubt  and  still  continue  to  hold  it." 

The  blunders  committed  by  both  armies  were  severely  commented 
on  by  all  eye-witnesses,  all  of  whom  agreed  that  bravely  as  the 
soldiers  on  both  sides  fought,  the  mistakes  of  their  generals  nullified 
all  the  advantages  gained.  The  London  Times  said,  on  this  subject, 
that  "  The  blunders  of  both  Turks  and  Russians  in  this  campaign 
are  unequaled  in  the  history  of  warfare.  A  success  by  either  side  is 
certain  to  be  followed  by  some  suicidal  attempt  which  more  than 
neutralizes  all  that  has  been  previously  gained  with  heavy  expendi- 
ture of  blood." 

The  Rumanian  troops,  on  this  occasion,  were  under  fire  for  the 
first  tune  during  the  war.  Much  had  been  said  against  them,  and  it 
was  generally  expected  that  they  would  fail  to  deport  themselves 
well  while  under  fire.  The  result,  however,  proved  the  opposite  to 
be  the  case.  All  who  witnessed  the  terrible  struggle  for  the  Grivitza 
redoubt,  which  was  held  by  the  Rumanians,  agree  that  they  behaved 
with  the  utmost  gallantry.  The  correspondent  of  the  London  Times 
speaks  as  follows  of  their  conduct  during  the  battle : 

"  The  great  redoubt  was  defended  entirely  by  Rumanian  infantry, 
who  held  the  work  with  the  most  desperate  courage  and  tenacity,  re- 
ceiving therefor  the  eulogies  of  the  Russian  Emperor  and  all  the 


314  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

foreign  spectators  of  their  valor Should  the  Russians  succeed 

in  taking  Plevna,  they  will  owe  no  trivial  part  of  their  victory  to 
the  co-operation  of  their  Rumanian  allies." 

The  losses  on  both  sides  were  very  great.  The  Grand  Duke 
Nicholas,  in  an  official  despatch,  stated  the  Eussian  loss  in  killed 
and  wounded  to  be  300  officers  and  12,500  men,  and  the  Rumanian 
loss  at  60  officers  and  3,000  men.  The  Turks  did  not  lose  as  many 
men  as  the  Russians,  during  the  first  days,  as  they  were  not  so  ex- 
posed, but  during  the  attacks  on  the  redoubts,  their  loss  was  reported 
to  be  fully  equal  to  that  of  the  Russians. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE     FALL     OF     PLEVNA. 

Renewed  fighting  in  the  Shipka  Pass— Defeat  of  Mehemet  All  at  Tcherkovna— Mehemet 
All  replaced  by  Suleiman  in  the  Supreme  Command — Formation  of  the  Army  of 
Orkhanie — Reinforcements  and  Ammunition  for  Plevna — Battle  of  Gorni  Dabnik — 
Capture  of  Telis — Battle  of  Radomirze — The  investment  of  Plevna  complete — Cap- 
ture of  the  Green  Hill — Formation  of  the  Army  of  Sophia — Capture  of  Teteven 
and  Vratza — The  Rumanians  take  Rahova — Capture  of  Pravetz  and  Etropol — Turks 
evacuate  Orkhanie  and  retreat  beyond  the  Balkans — Suleiman's  advance  on  the 
Lorn— Capture  of  Elena  by  the  Turks— End  of  the  Turkish  Advance— The  fall  of 
Plevna. 

SULEIMAN  PASHA  having  nearly  exhausted  his  forces  in  the  last 
days  of  August  in  a  vain  struggle  for  the  Shipka  Pass,  and  the 
Eighth  Russian  army  corps,  under  Gen.  Radetzky,  having  maintained 
all  its  positions,  the  Turkish  general  spent  the  first  few  weeks  of 
September  in  reorganizing  his  forces.  He  did  not,  however,  receive 
reinforcements  of  any  account.  While  Radetzky  was  completing 
his  fortifications  and  his  roads,  Suleiman  Pasha  was  actively  en- 
gaged in  constructing  war  batteries,  and  in  bringing  up  heavy  guns. 
The  first  half  of  the  month,  therefore,  passed  without  any  engage- 
ment of  consequence,  but  was  occupied  with  cannonades  and  skir- 
mishes. But  in  the  night,  from  the  16th  to  the  17th,  the  Turks  sud- 
denly attacked  the  Russians  along  the  entire  line.  The  correspond- 
ent of  the  London  Times,  writing  on  September  17th,  described  the 
attack  as  follows : 

"  At  length  the  eventful  day  for  which  we  have  been  so  patiently 
waiting  has  arrived,  and  for  once  rumor  proved  correct,  so  far  as 
that  the  attempt  to  capture  the  Russian  positions  would  be  by  a 
night  attack.  For  the  last  three  days  sure  signs  had  been  observ- 
able that  some  movement  of  importance  was  imminent,  not  the 
least  of  which  being  the  provision  made  for  the  expected  wounded, 
as  to  whom  the  English  and  Austrian  ambulances  appear  to  have 
worked  a  revolution  with  regard  to  their  treatment  in  this  army. 
Last  night  the  preparations  were  complete,  and  at  about  ten  o'clock 
eight  battalions,  numbering  3,000  men,  marched  noiselessly  and 
passed  headquarters  to  form  the  central  attacking  column,  under 

(315) 


3i6  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Salih  Pasha,  while  an  equal  force,  commanded  by  Veisel  Pasha, 
ascended  the  western  heights,  and  some  2,000  men  were  sent  to  the 
eastward,  where  Brigadier  Redjib  Pasha  has  for  some  time  been  es- 
tablished. The  night  was  favorable.  The  assigned  positions  were 
taken  without  the  enemy  having  the  slightest  intimation  of  any- 
thing unusual  being  about  to  occur Shortly  before  four 

o'clock  on  Monday  morning,  the  general,  on  whom  devolved  the 
duty  of  leading  the  attack  on  the  center  and  chief  position — Fort 
St.  Nicholas,  a  huge  rock  which  towers  on  high  above  the  point 
where  the  Shipka  road  attains  its  greatest  elevation — taking  advan- 
tage of  the  darkness  of  the  hour,  quitted  his  well-selected  cover,  and 
advanced  his  men  up  the  green  slope  at  the  base  of  the  rock,  and, 
proceeding  further,  was  soon  established  upon  its  steep  and  rugged 
face  without  firing  a  shot.  Arrived  here,  however,  the  alarm  was 
quickly  given,  and  the  rock  soon  became  alive  with  vivid  flashes  of 
rifle  firing.  This  continued  for  the  space  of  half  an  hour,  at  the  ex- 
piration of  which  the  fire  became  lessened,  giving  assurance  that 
the  position,  formidable  as  it  is,  was  won  at  the  commencement  of 
the  attack.  I  was  at  headquarters  on  the  plain,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Pass,  when  it  was  announced  that  a  telegram  had  been  received  from 
the  eastern  battery  that  Fort  St.  Nicholas  had  actually  been  taken. 
The  rapidity  with  which  this  seems  to  have  been  done  astonished 
Suleiman  Pasha,  who  was  upon  the  point  of  telegraphing  the  wel- 
come news  to  Constantinople,  when  he  reflected  upon  it  and  made 
use  of  the  wire  to  inquire  if  there  could  be  any  misconception.  The 
answer  was  reassuring,  and  the  cessation  of  the  fire  seemed  to  con- 
firm the  truth  of  the  message.  At  this  moment,  however,  the  Turk- 
ish artillery  opened  upon  the  rearward  portion  of  the  fort,  and  this 
proved,  unfortunately,  that  Suleiman's  doubts  were  too  well  founded. 
His  mortar  batteries  were  firing  heavily  also,  and  the  rattle  of  mus- 
ketry became  incessant.  Dawn  had  just  lifted  the  curtain  of 
darkness,  and  every  moment  of  increasing  light  extinguished,  as  it 
were,  the  flash  of  the  rifle.  Not  alone  in  the  center,  but  to  the  east- 
ward and  westward,  the  din  of  battle  could  now  be  heard,  echoed  and 
re-echoed  in  the  mountain  spaces  where  the  combat  was  progress- 
ing  Arrived  at  last  at  the  top,  the  exertion  was  amply 

repaid,  and  the  reason  of  the  error  above  referred  to  became  easy  to 
understand.  Seen  from  the  plain,  the  rock  might  readily  be  sup- 
posed just  before  daylight  to  have  been  captured,  for  its  summit  is, 
perhaps,  a  hundred  yards  deep,  and  is  broken  up  into  jagged  and 


THE  FALL  OF  PLEVNA. 


317 


storm-torn  ravines.  About  half-way  along  is  a  cleft,  and  the  Turk- 
ish troops  could  be  seen  firing  with  the  utmost  energy  across  at  the 
Russians,  hidden  under  whatever  cover  there  was  to  be  met  with 
upon  their  side  of  it,  while  their  own  numerously  intrenched  men 
were  picking  off  their  exposed  assailants  most  mercilessly.  The 
eastern  battery  was  pouring  its  shells  in  among  the  enfiladed 
trenches,  but  their  guns  on  the  western  side  were  unable  to  play 
with  so  great  effect  on  account  of  the  closeness  of  the  combatants  to 
each  other.  All  this  time  I  looked  anxiously,  but  in  vain,  for  the 
attacks  which  it  must  have  been  intended  that  the  battalions  told  off 
for  the  purpose  on  either  side  should  have  long  ago  carried  out. 
Fighting  was  to  be  heard  going  on  in  the  valleys  covered  from  view 
by  the  intervening  ridges  of  the  mountains,  but  this  was  of  a  desul- 
tory nature,  and  soon  ceased  almost  entirely,  and  one's  attention  be- 
came rivetted  by  the  events  passing  immediately  before  the  eye. 
The  Turkish  center  was  evidently  admirably  and  bravely  led  by 
Salih  Pasha's  second  in  command.  He  poured  up  his  men  with  the 
utmost  rapidity,  and  their  fire  was  as  incessant  as  their  exposure  to 
that  of  the  enemy  from  their  thickly-lined  trenches  was  great.  That 
the  Turkish  fire  was  effective  was  shown  by  the  sight  of  the  wounded 
who  were  being  conveyed  from  the  stoutly-defended  side  of  the  cleft. 
The  eastern  battery  was  hotly  replied  to  all  the  time  by  the  Turkish 
guns  on  the  Shipka  road,  and  their  having  fuse  shells  gave  some 
compensation  for  the  losses  which  their  side  sustained  from  the  cor- 
rectness of  aim  of  the  Turkish  artillerymen.  The  delay  in  the  fur- 
ther advance  of  the  Turkish  center  was  becoming  extraordinary,  the 
numbers  opposed  to  it  being  very  inferior  numerically.  No  reserves 
appeared  to  be  sent  forward  on  the  Russian  side.  Something  had 
evidently  gone  out  of  gear,  as  the  best-contrived  plan  will  sometimes 
do,  and  the  fighting  had  endured,  it  must  be  remembered,  since 
dawn.  About  a  quarter  to  eleven,  however,  a  startling  change  oc- 
curred. A  dark  mass  of  men  was  to  be  seen  advancing  from  the 
direction  of  Gabrova  along  the  high-road  through  the  pass.  This 
unlooked-for  apparition  quickly  determined  whatever  hesitation  the 
gallant  Turkish  leader  of  the  center  might  have  entertained,  for  he  saw 
himself  in  danger  of  being  surrounded  by  fresh  masses  of  the  enemy. 
It  proved  to  be  some  1,600  Russian  Chasseurs,  who  had  been  sent 
forward  as  speedily  as  possible  on  the  alarm  of  the  attack  arriving. 
The  order  to  retire  was  at  once  sounded,  and  down  again  came  the 
now  disheartened  troops,  with  the  cup  of  victory  dashed  from  their 


3i8  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

lips.  Fortunately,  however,  the  enemy  did  not  follow,  and,  as  re- 
gards the  reinforcements,  they  were  even  yet  too  far  distant  to  at- 
tempt pursuit,  excepting  to  a  much  less  extent  than  could  have  been 
expected.  Down  the  hill  pell-mell  the  center  men  came,  passing  on 
their  way  their  own  side  trenches  nearest  the  rock.  The  troops 
which  held  the  trenches  in  question  deserve  the  highest  praise  for 
not  having  joined  in  the  panic — for  panic  soon  it  became  as  the 
alarm  spread  among  the  now  easily-excited  soldiery.  Had  the  Rus- 
sians followed  up  their  advantage  and  merely  made  a  show  of  pur- 
suit, the  consequences  must  have  been  disastrous,  as  it  is  not  by  any 
means  improbable  that  the  army  nearest  the  unfortunate  center 
would  have  caught  the  contagion.  Happily,  the  result  was  avoided, 
and  the  beaten  soldier,  who  had  been  so  near  the  goal,  was  able  to 
rally  his  men,  and  kept  every  one  from  descending  and  spreading 
terror  among  the  rest." 

The  Russian  loss  was  stated  at  31  officers  and  1,000  soldiers 
killed  and  wounded,  while,  according  to  the  Russian  report,  not  less 
than  3,000  Turkish  corpses  covered  the  rocks  on  the  hill.  Every- 
thing now  remained  quiet  up  to  the  close  of  September.  With  the 
close  of  the  month,  Suleiman  Pasha,  who  had  taken  Meheniet  Ali's 
place,  was  replaced  by  Rauf  Pasha. 

The  Czarevitch,  after  having  abandoned  the  line  of  the  Lorn 
River  in  the  beginning  of  September,  not  being  pushed  by  Mehemet 
Ali,  was  enabled  to  occupy  strong  positions  on  the  Yantra,  where 
he  could  wait  for  reinforcements.  On  the  20th  of  September  he 
occupied  a  line  extending  from  Tcherkovna,  about  twelve  miles  south- 
east of  Biela,  to  Pyrgos,  on  the  Danube,  presenting  a  front  fully 
twenty -four  miles  long.  His  army,  which  had  originally  consisted 
of  the  Twelfth  and  Thirteenth  corps,  had  been  reinforced  with 
parts  of  the  Eleventh,  and  probably  the  entire  Second  corps.  On 
the  21st  of  September  Mehemet  Ali  attacked  the  Czarevitch  on  his 
extreme  right  at  Tcherkovna,  and  here  encountered  his  first  check. 
The  Russians  were  posted  on  both  sides  of  a  road  connecting  Tcher- 
kovna, Yerboka,  and  Cairkoi,  partly  on  a  ridge  and  partly  on  the 
slope  of  the  heights  which  rise  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Jordan,  a 
small  brook  flowing  into  one  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Banicka  Lorn, 
which  empties  into  the  Kara  Lorn.  The  Turks  were  posted  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Jordan,  occupying  the  heights  on  the  right  flank, 
at  a  distance  of  only  three  kilometres,  or  not  quite  two  miles,  from 


THE  BULGARIAN  LEGION  DEFENDING  THE  LUNETTE  IN  THE  SHIPKA  PASS. 


THE  FALL  OF  PLEVNA. 


321 


the  Russian  position.  The  battle  is  described  as  follows  by  the 
correspondent  of  the  London  Times : 

"  The  favorable  weather  which  has  suddenly  set  in  made  it  pos- 
sible for  Mehemet  AH  to  carry  out  the  reconuoissance  which  it  had 
been  arranged  to  make  yesterday  of  the  Russian  position  near  Tcher- 
kovna,  where  the  Russians  had  taken  up  a  strong  position  in  con- 
siderable force,  with  their  main  strength  on  the  left  wing.  This 
was  protected  by  a  wood  extending  from  the  top  to  the  middle  of 
the  declivity  lining  the  left  bank  of  the  Jordan  brook.  The  inter- 
vening ground  is  pretty  steep,  does  not  afford  the  slightest  cover, 
and  makes  the  task  of  attacking  exceedingly  difficult.  The  Turkish 
arrangements  were  made  in  such  a  way  as  to  allow  them  to  begin 
the  advance  at  about  twelve  o'clock.  Ten  battalions  of  Hassan 
Pasha's  corps  were  appointed  to  this  task ;  a  brigade  remained  in 
reserve  and  never  came  into  action  at  all  At  one  o'clock  the 
Turkish  batteries  on  both  sides  of  the  road  to  the  north  of  Tcher- 
kovna  opened  fire  on  the  Russian  intrenchments  situated  on  the 
ridges  to  the  south-east  of  Verboka.  The  Russians  at  once  replied, 
at  first  with  eight  guns  from  that  position.  At  about  half -past  one, 
eight  more  guns  were  moved  up  to  the  same  heights,  and  then  began 
a  rather  furious  artillery  engagement.  At  two  o'clock  a  body  of  Rus- 
sian infantry  advanced,  under  cover  of  a  wood,  against  the  left  wing 
of  the  Turks,  but  encountered  only  one  battalion,  which  kept  its  ground 
till  two  other  battalions,  under  the  command  of  Riza  Pasha,  attacked 
the  enemy's  flank  and  drove  them  to  a  favorable  position  in  the 
rear,  where  they  made  a  stand.  From  the  rear  of  the  Russian  in- 
fantry half  a  battery  opened  fire  upon  the  Turkish  troops,  and  this 
lasted  about  thirty  minutes,  when  a  Turkish  battery,  likewise  from 
behind  their  own  men,  gave  voice,  and  attracted  the  enemy's  fire. 

"  After,  however,  the  Russians  had  received  strong  reinforcements 
in  that  direction,  the  Turks,  on  their  part,  directed  nine  Egyptian 
battalions  against  the  Russian  right  wing,  but  these  did  not  enter 
into  action.  For  this  reason  the  Turkish  left  wing  could  not  gain 
any  ground.  From  the  Turkish  center  and  right  wing  then  three 
battalions  advanced,  the  center  force,  under  the  command  of  Sifat 
Pasha,  against  the  heights  to  the  east  of  Yerboka,  and  the  right 
wing  against  the  wood  to  the  north  of  the  village.  Then  there 
gradually  began  a  furious  infantry  battle,  which  grew  in  intensity, 
until  at  about  six  o'clock  it  reached  its  highest  pitch.  The  center 


322  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

column  advanced  as  far  as  Verboka,  and  after  having  been  ordered 
four  times  in  vain  to  retire,  had  to  be  led  out  of  the  fire  by  the 
divisional  commander  in  person.  It  was  apparently  not  the  inten- 
tion of  Mehemet  Ali  to  gain  ground  in  the  center.  Not  less  heroic- 
ally did  the  battalions  on  the  Turkish  right  wing  fight.  At  half-past 
eight  in  the  evening  firing  ceased,  and  the  Turks  returned  to  their 
former  positions." 

After  this  defeat,  Mehemet  Ali,  on  the  24th  of  September,  began  to 
retreat  on  his  entire  line  beyond  the  Lorn,  and  completely  stopped 
the  forward  movement  begun  four  weeks  previously.  He  gave  as 
a  reason  for  this  unexpected  resolution  that  he  had  become  con- 
vinced of  the  numerical  superiority  of  his  enemy.  It  was  also 
known  that  he  was  seriously  hindered  in  his  operations  by  the  con- 
tinual disobedience  to  his  orders  displayed  by  his  subordinates, 
Achmet  Eyub  Pasha  and  Prince  Hassan  of  Egypt.  This  retreat 
was  seized  upon  in  Constantinople  as  a  pretext  for  his  removal,  and 
while  he  was  sent  to  the  Servian  frontier,  Suleiman  Pasha  was  ap- 
pointed in  his  place.  His  want  of  success,  however,  was  due  more 
to  the  fact  that  the  other  commanders  failed  to  co-operate  with  him, 
than  to  any  fault  of  his  own.  Osman  Pasha,  instead  of  making  use 
of  the  favorable  opportunity  presented  to  him  after  the  second  Rus- 
sian defeat  at  Plevna  to  pursue  the  completely  demoralized  Russians 
to  the  Danube,  remained  quietly  in  Plevna,  and  permitted  himself 
to  be  surrounded  again.  All  later  efforts  of  Mehemet  Ali  to  ap- 
proach him  from  Osman  Bazar  by  way  of  Tirnova  and  to  establish 
a  communication  with  him,  were  left  unnoticed  by  Osman  Pasha. 
Suleiman,  also,  seemed  to  show  but  little  inclination  to  render 
Mehemet  Ali  any  aid.  After  the  Russians  had  retreated  from 
Rumelia  to  the  Shipka  Pass,  Mehemet  Ali  had  desired  that  Sulei- 
man, after  leaving  a  corps  of  observation  before  the  Shipka  Pass, 
should  cross  the  Balkans  with  his  army,  and  that  having  joined 
their  forces,  they  should  then  defeat  the  Russian  forces  at  the  foot 
of  the  Balkans,  and  then  establish  communication  with  Osman. 
This  plan  seemed  certainly  to  be  the  most  correct  and  most  feasible 
one.  A  decided  Turkish  success  in  Bulgaria  would  make  a  Russian 
advance  in  Rumelia  impossible.  Suleiman,  however,  instead  of  act- 
ing upon  the  plan  of  the  commander-in-chief,  undertook  those  at- 
tacks on  the  Russian  positions  in  the  Shipka  Pass,  in  which  he  sac- 
rificed fully  10,000  of  the  best  Turkish  troops,  and  which,  according 
to  the  best  military  authorities,  were  entirely  senseless. 


THE  FALL  OF  PLE  VNA. 


323 


In  the  middle  of  September  a  corps  made  up  of  troops  from 
"Widin,  Sophia,  and  Nissa  was  gathering  at  Orkhanie,  on  the  road 
from  Sophia  and  Plevna,  under  the  command  of  Shevket  Pasha. 
Although  Russian  and  Rumanian  cavalry  were  on  this  road,  Hifzi 
Pasha  succeeded,  on  September  23d,  in  reaching  Plevna  with  rein- 
forcements amounting  to  20  battalions,  one  regiment  of  cavalry  and 
two  batteries,  in  all  12,000  men,  together  with  a  large  train  of  pro- 
visions. Later  on,  -the  Rumanian  cavalry  on  the  west  began  to  be 
more  active,  and  managed,  at  the  close  of  September,  to  capture  a 
train  of  ammunition  of  eighty  wagons,  while  a  detachment  of  Rus- 
sian cavalry  destroyed  a  provision  train,  capturing  1,000  head  of 
cattle.  The  blockade  on  the  west  of  Plevna  was  by  no  means  as 
yet  complete.  This  was  proven  by  the  fact  that  on  October 
10th  Shevket  Pasha  again  brought  a  train  of  provisions  and  am- 
munition safely  into  the  town,  and  on  the  llth  had  a  conference 
with  Osman  Pasha  there.  In  order  to  secure  the  road  to  Ork- 
hanie, which  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  best  roads  in  Turkey,  Shevket 
Pasha's  troops,  about  12,000  strong,  occupied  its  most  important 
points  and  defiles,  among  them  Gorni  Dabnik,  Telis,  and  Lukovitza. 

As  long  as  the  investment  of  Plevna  could  not  be  effectually  car- 
ried out  on  the  west,  and  Osman  Pasha  therefore  remained  in  con- 
nection with  his  friends  in  Orkhanie  and  Sophia,  the  Russians  could 
not  expect  to  reduce  the  post.  The  guards  which  arrived  at  the 
headquarters  of  the  Czar,  near  Gorni  Studen,  were  placed  under 
the  command  of  General  Gourko,  together  with  two  other  cavalry 
divisions  and  one  infantry  brigade,  and  this  officer  was  then  en- 
trusted with  the  task  of  breaking  the  connection  between  Plevna 
and  Orkhanie.  On  October  9th,  the  guards  were  about  seven  miles 
north-west  of  Lovatz.  Owing  to  the  bad  condition  of  the  roads 
they  advanced  very  slowly,  and  did  not  take  a  position  opposite  to 
the  positions  of  Hifzi  at  Gorni  Dabnik  and  Telis  until  October  23d. 
The  Russian  cavalry  west  of  Plevna  during  this  period  had  a  few 
skirmishes  with  the  enemy,  none  of  which  were  of  any  importance. 
On  the  morning  of  the  24th,  General  Gourko  attacked  Gorni  Dab- 
nik, and  after  a  very  fierce  conflict,  not  only  took  the  Turkish  posi- 
tion, which  was  commanded  by  Hifzi  Pasha,  but  also  captured  3,000 
prisoners,  four  guns,  and  a  whole  cavalry  regiment.  His  own  loss 
was  stated  at  2,500  men.  Simultaneously  with  this  attack  a  heavy 
cannonade  was  opened  along  the  entire  line  east  of  Plevna,  and  dem- 
onstrations were  made  so  as  to  give  the  impression  of  an  intended 


324  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

assault,  and  prevent  Osman  Pasha  sending  assistance  to  Hifzi  Pasha. 
Whatever  the  reason  may  have  been,  Osman  did  not  attack  Gourko, 
although  the  battle  took  place  but  nine  miles  from  Plevna,  and  the 
Russian  right  flank  was  very  much  exposed.  The  Russians  were  re- 
pulsed at  Telis  on  this  day,  but  this  place  also  surrendered  four  days 
later.  On  October  31st,  Osman  Pasha  evacuated  Dolni  Dabnik,  at 
the  crossing  of  the  Dabnitza  creek  and  the  road  from  Sophia  to 
Plevna,  and  the  Russians  were  enabled  thereby  to  advance  their 
lines  seven  miles  closer  to  Plevna.  Shevket  Pasha,  who  was  stand- 
ing at  Radomirze,  retreated  upon  being  informed  of  these  events. 
On  October  31st,  he  again  advanced  against  Radomirze,  but  was  de- 
feated after  a  battle  lasting  several  hours.  From  this  time  on  the 
investment  of  Plevna  was  complete. 

Osman  Pasha  had  surrounded  his  position  with  a  number  of  en- 
closed works  and  redoubts,  so  formidable  as  to  forbid  the  attempt  to 
capture  them  by  assault,  a  fact  which  the  Russians  and  Rumanians 
had  learned  to  their  cost  during  the  battles  of  early  September ; 
and  it  only  remained  to  maintain  the  investment  till  the  Turkish 
army  should  be  forced  by  necessity  to  surrender.  The  most  impor- 
tant of  these  works  was  the  Grivitza  redoubt,  constructed  north  of 
the  village  of  Grivitza,  which  was  captured  by  the  Rumanians  on 
the  30th  of  August.  Southward  of  the  Grivitza  redoubt  was  the 
Radisevo  redoubt,  commanding  the  approaches  from  the  south- 
eastward and  eastward  on  the  south  side  of  the  Sophia-Sistova  road. 
On  the  northern  front  of  the  position  was  Fort  Bukova.  The  fol- 
lowing description  of  the  Russian  and  Turkish  works  was  given  by 
a  correspondent  who  was  with  the  Russian  army  at  a  late  period  of 
the  siege : 

"  Starting  from  a  point  on  the  Plevna-Biela  road,  about  1,000 
yards  west  of  Grivitza,  we  are  on  the  other  line  of  works  and  right 
under  the  guns  of  the  three  Turkish  redoubts,  connected  by  galler- 
ies and  infantry  trenches,  defending  the  approach  to  Plevna  by  the 
chaussee,  the  only  means  of  reaching  the  town  from  the  east,  north- 
east, or  south-east,  as  the  rivulet  on  the  map  running  from  Tutchen- 
itza  through  Plevna  courses  through  an  impassable  ravine,  with  per- 
pendicular sides  of  rock.  The  line  then  runs  south-west  about  a 
thousand  yards  west  of  Radisevo,  and  so  on  in  the  same  direction 
until  it  reaches  the  ravine  above  mentioned.  On  the  western  side 
of  this  ravine  we  start  from  the  point  where  the  Lovatz  road  bends 
to  the  eastward,  thence  westward  between  Brestovatz  and  Kirshine 


THE  FALL  OF  PLEVNA. 


325 


to  a  point  2,000  yards  from  the  Lovatz  road ;  tlience  north-west  be- 
tween Blagivas  and  Olcagas  to  the  river  Vid.  Crossing  the  Yid  we 
go  due  north  to  a  point  in  front  and  east  of  Etropol,  thence  north- 
east to  the  Yid,  just  beyond  Oponetz,  and  from  this  place  we  pass 
north  of  Bukova,  and  south-easterly  to  the  starting-point  en  the 
Grivitza  chaussee.  From  the  Grivitza  ridge  round  to  the  position 
between  Brestovatz  and  Kirshine  the  Russian  lines  are  higher  than 
the  Turkish.  From  this  point  to  the  Yid  the  latter  are  higher,  but 
in  a  very  slight  degree,  while  from  the  Yid  round  to  the  Grivitza 
ridge  again  the  Turkish  intrenchmeuts  are  generally  more  elevated. 
There  are  between  twenty  and  twenty-five  closed  redoubts  on  the 
Moslem  line,  with  innumerable  rifle  trenches,  batteries,  and  covered 
ways.  The  allied  lines  have  been  gradually  advanced  nearer  and 
nearer  to  those  of  the  Turks,  and  with  each  advance  a  new  line  of 
intrenchments  has  been  constructed,  so  that  all  the  intervening 
spaces  between  the  first  and  the  present  allied  lines  is  bristling  with 
parapets.  There  is  no  place  on  the  line  where  close  siege  operations 
have  been  carried  on,  excepting  at  the  Grivitza  redoubt,  where  the 
Rumanians  have  sapped  up  to  the  neighboring  Turkish  earthwork. 
The  lines  are  within  close  rifle  range  at  other  parts  of  the  circum- 
vallation,  and  the  gradual  exhaustion  of  Osman  Pasha's  supplies  is 
thus  awaited.  The  line  of  circumvallation  around  Plevna  is  fully 
thirty  miles  in  length,  but  the  conformation  of  the  ground  is  such 
that  it  is  not  necessary  to  have  the  divisions  in  actual  contact  at  all 
points.  The  guns  of  the  allies  are  mounted  generally  en  barbette  ; 
those  of  the  Turks  are  all  in  embrasures.  The  Rumanian  earthworks 
present  a  more  technically  correct  appearance  than  those  of  the  Rus- 
sians, the  lines  and  slopes  of  the  former  conforming  strictly  to  the 
drawings  laid  down  in  works  on  military  engineering.  Their  para- 
pets also  have  a  much  higher  command  than  those  of  the  Muscovites. 
Enough  spade  work  has  been  done  around  Plevna  to  build  many 
miles  of  railway  embankment,  and  iron  enough  thrown  away  to 
furnish  the  rails." 

On  the  9th  of  November  Skobeleff  captured  the  Green  Hills,  a 
mountain  south  of  Plevna,  after  having  occupied  Brestovatz  on  the 
5th. 

To  the  west  of  Plevna  the  Russians  continued  to  advance  rapidly. 
During  the  month  of  November  Mehemet  Ali  collected  an  army  at 
Sophia,  which,  together  with  the  army  stationed  at  Orkhanie,  under 
Shakir  Pasha,  who  had  succeeded  Shevket  Pasha,  seemed  in  the  be- 


326  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

ginning  to  threaten  the  Russians,  and  to  offer  a  chance  for  the  relief 
of  Plevna.  The  principal  events,  west  of  Plevna,  during  the  month 
of  November,  were  as  follows : 

On  Nov.  1st,  one  brigade  of  the  Third  infantry  division  took  the 
city  of  Teteven  by  storm.  This  city  is  situated  about  fifty  miles 
south-west  of  Plevna,  and  is  of  considerable  importance,  as  it  is  con- 
nected with  Slatitza  by  a  pass  across  the  Balkans.  On  Nov.  9th,  a 
detached  cavalry  corps,  consisting  of  three  regiments  of  guards,  under 
the  command  of  Gen.  Leonoff,  attacked  and  captured  Yratza,  situ- 
ated on  the  road  from  Sophia  to  Rahova,  and  a  place  of  considerable 
importance,  in  that  it  afforded  facilities  for  threatening  the  commu- 
nications of  Sophia  and  Widin.  An  important  advantage  was  gained 
on  the  Danube  by  the  capture  of  Rahova  by  the  Rumanians  on  Nov. 
22d,  after  a  battle  reported  to  have  continued  for  three  days.  But 
the  main  object  of  the  Russian  operations  was  to  capture  Orkhanie, 
and  then  make  a  demonstration  against  Sophia.  In  order  to  accom- 
plish these  objects  it  was  necessary,  in  the  first  place,  to  take  the  two 
important  positions  of  Pravetz  and  Etropol.  For  this  purpose  the 
Russians,  on  Nov.  21st  and  22d,  left  Yablonitza,  the  furthest  of  their 
advanced  points  on  the  Plevna-Orkhanie  road,  in  two  columns,  under 
Gen.  Count  Shuvaloff  and  Gen.  Rauch,  for  Pravetz,  which  was  taken 
on  Nov.  23d.  During  the  entire  engagement  the  detachment  at 
Yratza  made  a  pretended  demonstration  against  Orkhanie,  and  two 
Russian  infantry  divisions  a  similar  one  against  Etropol,  in  order  to 
keep  the  Turkish  forces  at  those  points  engaged.  Etropol  was  also 
taken  on  the  24th.  These  successes  decreased  still  more  the  ability 
of  Mehemet  Ali  to  relieve  Plevna.  After  the  capture  of  Pravetz, 
the  Turks  abandoned  Novatchin,  Skrivena,  and  Orkhanie,  and  on 
the  29th  they  also  evacuated  Yraktchesh.  Gen.  Ellis  immediately 
started  in  pursuit,  and  on  Dec.  1st,  occupied  strong  positions  in  the 
mountains  opposite  to  Arab  Konak. 

Before  proceeding  to  describe  the  fall  of  Plevna,  it  will  be  well  to 
see  what  Suleiman  Pasha  had  done  to  relieve  Osman  Pasha. 
Suleiman's  forces,  composing  the  army  of  Shumla,  and  consisting 
almost  entirely  of  trained  veterans,  was  far  better  qualified  to  come 
to  the  relief  of  Osman,  than  the  raw  recruits  of  which,  for  the  most 
part,  the  armies  of  Orkhanie  and  Sophia  were  composed.  During 
the  month  of  October,  Suleiman  kept  entirely  on  the  defensive, 
while  his  opponent,  the  Czarevitch,  undertook  several  reconnois- 
sances.  During  one  of  these,  Prince  Sergius  of  Leuchtenberg  was 


THE  FALL  OF  PLEVNA. 


327 


killed,  the  only  member  of  the  Russian  Imperial  family  that  had 
fallen  during  the  war.  During  the  early  part  of  November  both 
armies  on  the  Lorn  kept  comparatively  quiet.  Finally,  on  Nov.  19th, 
Suleiman  proceeded  to  take  the  offensive,  and  made  a  demonstration 
from  Kadikoi  against  the  extreme  left  of  the  Czarevitch's  army.  On 
the  19th,  the  troops  stationed  at  Kadikoi  crossed  the  Lorn  in  three 
columns  at  Bassarbova,  Krasna,  and  Yovan  Chiftlik.  They  forced 
the  Russian  outposts,  standing  at  Pyrgos,  to  retreat,  then  destroyed 
Pyrgos,  but  were  subsequently  forced  back  beyond  the  Lorn.  On 
the  26th,  Suleiman  again  crossed  the  Lorn,  near  Kadikoi,  and 
attacked  the  Russian  positions  at  Metchka  and  Tirstenik,  but  was 
again  repulsed  on  all  points.  Shortly  after  these  events,  Suleiman 
moved  his  headquarters  to  Osman  Bazar,  and  gathered  a  considerable 
army.  The  strength  of  this  force  is  not  known,  although  its  left 
wing,  which  was  the  strongest,  was  estimated  by  the  Russians  at 
from  30,000  to  40,000  men.  The  estimate  may  have  been  exagger- 
ated, but  the  forces  collected  at  this  point  were  certainly  of  con- 
siderable strength.  On  Dec.  3d,  the  army  of  Suleiman  began  to  ad- 
vance in  three  columns.  The  left  column,  comprising  the  greater 
part  of  the  force,  advanced  against  Elena  and  Slataritza  ;  the  center 
marched  from  Osman  Bazar  on  the  main  road  against  Kesrova,  and 
the  right  wing  moved  from  Sarnasuflar  to  Popkoi.  The  movements 
against  Kesrova  and  Popkoi  were  of  a  demonstrative  character  only, 
and  that  against  Popkoi  in  particular  was  conducted  with  a  very 
weak  force.  The  main  column,  under  Fuad  Pasha,  on  the  morning 
of  the  4th  surprised  the  Russian  advanced  positions  at  Bebrova  and 
Marian,  and  forced  detachments  which  held  them  to  retreat  in  much 
disorder.  The  reinforcements  which  were  immediately  sent  from 
Elena,  were  unable  to  change  the  situation,  and  were  also  forced  to 
retreat  with  considerable  losses.  The  strength  of  the  Turks  and  the 
disorder  among  the  Russians  seemed  to  be  so  great,  that  Prince 
Mirsky,  the  Russian  commander,  found  himself  unable  to  hold  his 
positions,  and  had  to  evacuate  even  Elena.  Three  miles  west  of 
Elena,  at  Jakovitza,  he  made  a  stand,  and  gathered  the  remnants  of 
his  army.  The  Turks  did  not  advance  beyond  Elena,  although  a 
column  belonging  to  their  left  wing  penetrated  beyond  Bebrova  to/ 
Slataritza.  On  the  5th,  the  Turks  kept  up  a  cannonade,  but  did  not 
attack  the  Russians  directly,  and  Gen.  Dellingshausen,  commanding 
the  Eleventh  army  corps,  was  enabled  to  bring  up  reinforcements. 
He  arrived  at  Jakovitza  on  the  morning  of  the  6th.  Immediately 


328  THE   WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

upon  his  arrival  the  Turks  proceeded  to  attack  the  position,  but 
were  repulsed.  Suleiman  did  not  repeat  the  attack,  and  desisted  from 
his  attempt  to  advance  upon  Tirnova,  although  he  continued  to 
hold  Elena  for  a  short  time. 

The  operations  against  Plevna  came  to  an  end  on  December  10th, 
the  one  hundred  and  forty-fourth  day  after  the  first  arrival  of 
Osman  Pasha,  forty-five  days  after  its  complete  investment,  and 
two  months  after  the  arrival  of  the  last  supply  train.  On  that  day 
Osman  Pasha  attempted  a  sortie  to  the  west,  but  after  a  fierce  con- 
test was  forced  to  surrender.  This  final  contest  was  described  as 
follows  by  General  Todleben,  in  his  official  report  to  the  Grand 
Duke  Nicholas,  on  the  investment  and  capture  of  Plevna,  as  pub- 
lished in  the  Invalide  Russe : 

"  Already,  during  the  night,  the  patrols  of  cavalry  reported  a 
great  concentration  of  Turkish  troops  upon  the  Vid.  The  attack  of 
the  Turks  commenced  about  half-past  seven  in  the  morning.  Our 
advanced  line  fell  back  before  them.  Major-General  Daniloff,  of 
the  staff  of  the  Emperor,  and  commanding  the  Third  division  of 
Grenadiers,  ordered  the  Second  battery  of  the  Third  brigade  of 
artillery,  which  occupied  the  battery  in  position  No.  3,  to  open  fire, 
and  the  Tenth  regiment  of  Grenadiers  of  Little  Russia  to  march  in 
the  direction  of  Kopany-Moguila.  The  Second  brigade,  with  its 
batteries,  was  also  sent  from  Gorni  Netropol. 

"  While  these  orders  were  being  executed,  there  was  already  light 
enough  to  see  the  Turkish  troops  which  had  concentrated  in  front 
of  us  during  the  night,  and  which  were  followed  by  a  train  line 
of  wagons  of  all  kinds.  The  Turks,  having  opened  fire  from  their 
guns  planted  upon  the  heights  near  the  bridge,  and  along  the  Yid 
to  some  distance  below  the  bridge,  rapidly  deployed  their  forces, 
taking  advantage  of  the  fog  which  covered  the  plain  on  both  sides 
of  the  river,  and  of  a  long  strip  of  high  ground  which  was  in  front 
of  the  bridge,  and  which  sheltered  the  numerous  troops  massed 
there  during  the  night. 

"  The  attack  of  the  enemy  upon  the  trenches  occupied  by  the 
Third  division  of  Grenadiers  was  characterized  by  an  extraordinary 
impetuosity.  Forward  marched  the  thick  lines  of  skirmishers,  im- 
mediately followed  by  deployed  battalions,  behind  which  came  the 
reserves.  The  artillery  followed  the  skirmishers,  advancing  rapidly, 
stopping  occasionally  to  throw  us  a  shell,  and  then  hastening  to  re- 
join the  skirmishers. 


OSMAN    PASHA. 


THE  FALL  OF  PLEVNA. 


33* 


"  In  spite  of  the  rapidity  of  the  fire  from  our  guns,  and  in  spite 
of  the  fire  of  the  infantry  posted  in  the  intrenchments,  the  Turks 
traversed  in  less  than  three-quarters  of  an  hour  the  distance  which 
separated  them  from  our  position,  and  reached  our  line  of  defense 
which  was  occupied  near  battery  No.  3  by  a  portion  of  the  troops 
of  the  Third  division  of  Grenadiers.  The  enemy,  penetrating  into 
the  interstices  of  the  intrenchments,  after  having  killed  all  those 
who  were  defending  them,  found  but  a  few  survivors,  who,  being 
too  feeble  to  resist  the  attack,  commenced  to  fall  back.  When  the 
trenches  of  work  No.  3  had  been  occupied  by  the  enemy,  and  the 
greater  portion  of  the  men  of  the  Second  battery  had  been  sabred 
at  their  guns,  the  survivors  could  only  succeed  in  getting  out  of  this 
earthwork  two  guns,  carrying  away  the  breech-screws  of  the  six 
other  pieces, 

"  Then,  at  half-past  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  troops  occu- 
pying the  central  position — the  Second  battalion,  with  the  second 
and  third  companies  of  skirmishers — having  lost  a  large  number  of 
men  and  many  officers,  commenced  to  fall  back  upon  Kopany- 
Moguila,  and  upon  the  left  lunette.  The  Third  battery  of  the 
Third  brigade  of  Grenadiers,  artillery,  which  occupied  work  No.  4, 
was  able  to  hold  out  some  time  longer,  throwing  grape  upon  the 
Turks ;  but,  finding  themselves  threatened  by  a  flank  movement 
upon  the  right,  they  abandoned  the  position,  and  were  only  able  to 
carry  away  six  guns,  the  horses  of  the  two  others  having  been 
killed. 

"  The  Tenth  regiment  of  Grenadiers  of  Little  Russia,  having 
arrived  upon  the  field  of  battle  while  the  regiment  of  Siberia  was 
engaged  with  the  enemy,  was  formed  in  companies  and  advanced 
by  the  interstice  between  lunette  four  and  Kopany-Moguila.  Hav- 
ing rallied  the  regiment  of  Siberia,  the  Little  Russians  checked  the 
advance  of  the  enemy,  but  this  cost  them  heavy  losses.  In  a  few 
moments  three  commanders  of  battalions  and  one-half  of  the  cap- 
tains were  placed  hors  du  combat. 

"  The  furious  attack  of  the  enemy  became  more  and  more  threat- 
ening. The  First  brigade  of  the  Third  division  of  Grenadiers  was 
exhausted  by  the  efforts  it  made  to  defend  the  lunettes.  Eight  of 
our  guns  had  faUen  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and  the  Second 
brigade  of  the  Third  division  of  Grenadiers  had  not  yet  arrived  to 
the  support  of  the  First.  It  arrived,  however,  toward  ten  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  and  at  the  same  moment  the  news  was  received 


332  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

that  the  Eighth  regiment  Grenadiers  of  Moscow  and  the  Seventh 
of  the  Grenadiers  of  Samogitia,  of  the  Second  division  of  Grena- 
diers, were  approaching  the  positions  defended  by  the  Third 
division.  The  arrival  of  these  reinforcements  secured  for  us  a 
favorable  issue  of  the  struggle,  and  rendered  it  impossible  for  the 
enemy  to  succeed  in  his  attempt  to  break  through.  A  loud  hurrah, 
which  burst  forth  at  about  half-past  ten  o'clock,  told  us  that  the 
Second  brigade  of  the  Third  division  of  Grenadiers  had  just  at- 
tacked our  trenches,  which  were  then  occupied  by  the  Turks.  Hav- 
ing dislodged  the  enemy  from  the  two  lunettes,  the  Grenadiers  of 
Astrakhan  and  Phanagoria,  sustained  by  those  of  Siberia  and  Little 
Russia,  continued  to  advance  rapidly,  without  paying  any  attention 
to  the  losses  which  they  sustained  by  the  murderous  fire  of  the 
Turks,  whom  they  dislodged  and  drove  from  the  trenches  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet.  Our  guns,  which  had  fallen  into  their  hands, 
were  retaken,  and  the  Grenadiers  of  Astrakhan  captured,  in  a  hand- 
to-hand  fight,  seven  Turkish  guns  and  one  standard.  Two  bat- 
talions of  the  Eighteenth  regiment  of  Yologda  operated  upon  the 
Turkish  flank  with  the  aid  of  a  Rumanian  battery.  At  the  moment 
of  the  attack  of  the  Second  brigade  of  the  Third  division  of  Gren- 
adiers, the  Seventh  regiment  of  Grenadiers  of  Samogitia,  under 
the  orders  of  Lieutenant-General  Svetchine,  commander  of  the 
Second  division  of  Grenadiers,  deployed  in  the  interstice  between 
Gorni  and  Dolni  JSetropol.  Attacking  the  enemy  with  the  bayonet, 
the  Grenadiers  of  Samogitia  chased  the  Turks  from  their  intreuch- 
ments  without  firing  a  single  shot,  and  having  put  them  to  flight, 
captured  three  guns. 

"After  having  again  occupied  the  advance  lines,  our  troops 
halted  for  a  moment.  It  was  nearly  noon  when  the  Turks  com- 
menced slowly  to  retreat  upon  the  Yid,  while  they  continued  to 
direct  upon  us  a  well-sustained  fire.  The  guns  taken  from  the 
Turks,  not  having  been  disabled  by  their  artillerymen,  were  turned 
against  them  and  served  by  infantry  soldiers.  At  the  same  time  all 
the  batteries  of  the  Third  brigade  of  artillery,  having  been  brought 
forward  and  placed  in  position  upon  the  same  line  with  our  in- 
fantry, opened  upon  the  enemy  a  terrible  fire  with  case-shot,  which 
changed  the  retreat  of  the  Turks  into  a  rout.  They  became  massed 
into  disordered  groups  near  the  bridge  of  the  Yid  pell-mell  with  the 
wagons,  of  which  there  were  a  great  number  upon  the  roadside.  In 
the  face  of  this  complete  disorganization  of  his  army  and  his  im- 


THE  FALL  OF  PLEVNA. 


333 


mense  losses,  Osman  Pasha  could  no  longer  even  think  of  renewing 
his  attempt  to  pierce  through,  especially  as  the  troops  of  the  other 
sectors  of  investment  had  advanced,  and  as  the  arrival  of  the  Six- 
teenth division  of  infantry  made  his  complete  defeat  a  certainty. 

"  Soon  our  troops  commenced  the  attack  along  the  whole  line. 
The  division  of  General  Daniloff  advanced  in  front,  sustained  upon 
the  left  flank,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Gorni  Netropol,  by  the  First 
brigade  of  the  Fifth  division  of  infantry,  and  upon  the  right  by 
the  Second  brigade  of  the  Second  division  of  Grenadiers.  The 
First  brigade  of  the  Second  division  of  Grenadiers  coming  out 
of  the  trenches,  proceeded  to  turn  the  left  flank  of  the  Turks. 
Moreover,  the  Second  battalion  of  the  Fifth  Grenadiers  of  Kiev, 
and  a  battalion  of  the  Sixth  Grenadiers  of  Taurida,  were  marched 
toward  the  Yid,  which  they  forded  to  occupy  the  heights  on  the 
right  bank.  The  Grenadiers  having  crossed  the  river,  with  the 
water  up  to  their  waists,  scaled  the  heights  of  Blasevats,  and  threw 
themselves  upon  the  redoubt  which  crowned  those  heights,  and  the 
garrison  of  which  surrendered  without  firing  a  shot.  The  brigades 
of  the  Third  division  of  the  Guard,  and  of  the  Sixteenth  division 
of  infantry  of  the  line,  which  were  sent,  according  to  the  orders 
which  I  had  given  the  day  before,  to  support  the  corps  of  Gen- 
eral Ganyetzky,  did  not  participate  in  the  battle. 

"  "While  the  Second  and  Third  divisions  of  Grenadiers  heroically 
repulsed  the  attack  of  the  whole  Turkish  army,  the  other  troops  of 
the  army  of  investment,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant-Generals 
Zotoff,  Baron  Kriidener  and  Kataley,  and  Major-General  Shnitnikoff 
and  General  Cernat,  who  commanded  the  Rumanian  corps,  advanced 
upon  the  Turkish  fortifications  fronting  the  east  and  south.  The  great- 
er portion  of  these  works  had  already  been  evacuated,  and  the  troops 
occupied  the  town  of  Plevna  in  presence  of  your  Imperial  Highness. 

"  After  having  entered  the  place,  the  troops,  with  your  Imperial 
Highness  at  their  head,  received  the  order  to  continue  to  advance  in 
the  direction  of  the  Yid,  upon  the  rear  of  the  enemy,  and  they  con- 
centrated little  by  little  upon  the  heights  to  the  west  of  Plevna,  near 
the  Sophia  road. 

"The  Rumanian  troops,  with  whom  was  his  Highness  Prince 
Charles,  from  that  morning  met  with  resistance  at  the  redoubt  of 
Oponetz,  which  the  enemy  still  occupied.  After  a  short  struggle, 
the  garrisons  of  these  works  threw  down  their  arms,  and  the  Ruma- 
nians captured  their  guns  and  2,000  prisoners. 


334  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

"  Gen.  Kataley  having  remained  upon  the  right  bank  of  the  Yid 
with  the  remainder  of  the  Third  division  of  infantry  of  the  Guard, 
perceiving  the  retreat  of  the  Turks  in  the  direction  of  the  river,  re- 
solved to  capture  the  redoubt  facing  the  Yolhynie  mountain,  in  order 
to  cut  off  all  chances  of  retreat  by  the  enemy  upon  the  fortified 
camp.  At  11 : 30  o'clock  the  Red  redoubt  was  occupied  without 
resistance,  and  soon  afterward  the  redoubt  of  Mohammed  Tobia  sur- 
rendered after  a  short  resistance.  Toward  one  o'clock,  after  a  short 
fusillade,  the  Black  redoubt  and  that  of  the  Sugarloaf  were  also 
taken.  In  these  redoubts  the  soldiers  of  the  Guard  made  prisoners 
of  one  Pasha,  120  officers,  and  3,734  men,  with  four  guns.  On  their 
side  they  had  three  men  killed  and  fifteen  wounded. 

"  Enclosed  by  superior  forces,  the  Turks  could  no  longer  continue 
the  fight,  and  consequently  they  sent  a  flag  of  truce,  and  the  chief 
of  the  staff  of  the  Turkish  army,  who  presented  himself  to  General 
Ganyetzky  and  told  him  that  Osman  Pasha  was  wounded,  and  de- 
sired to  know  the  conditions  of  capitulation.  Gen.  Ganyetzky  de- 
manded an  unconditional  surrender  of  the  entire  army.  Osman 
Pasha  consented,  and  Gen.  Ganyetzky  went  personally  to  his  brave 
and  wounded  adversary. 

"  There  surrendered  during  that  memorable  day  of  the  28th  of 
November  (December  10th,  new  style),  10  Pashas,  130  superior  offi- 
cers, 2,000  subaltern  officers,  40,000  soldiers  and  gunners,  and  1,200 
cavalry.  We  took  77  guns  and  an  immense  quantity  of  munitions, 
especially  cartridges.  The  enemy  lost  during  the  battle  nearly 
6,000  men. 

"  On  our  side  the  Second  and  Third  divisions  of  Grenadiers  suf- 
fered the  following  losses :  Killed,  two  superior  officers,  seven  sub- 
altern officers,  and  409  men  ;  wounded,  one  general,  three  superior 
officers,  47  subaltern  officers,  and  1,263  men. 

"  The  First  brigade  of  the  Fifth  division  of  infantiy  had  one  offi- 
cer and  47  men  wounded. 

Speaking  of  Osman's  reception  by  the  Russians,  the  Daily  News' 
correspondent  says : 

"  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  rode  up  to  Osman's  carriage,  and  for 
some  seconds  the  two  chiefs  gazed  into  each  other's  faces  without 
the  utterance  of  a  word.  Then  the  Grand  Duke  stretched  out  his 
hand,  shook  the  hand  of  Osman  heartily,  and  said  :  '  I  compliment 
you  on  your  defense  of  Plevna.  It  is  one  of  the  most  splendid 


THE  FALL  OF  PLEVNA. 


335 


military  feats  in  history.'  Osman  smiled  sadly,  rose  painfully  to 
his  feet  in  spite  of  his  wound,  and  said  something  which  I  could  not 
hear.  He  then  reseated  himself.  The  Russian  officers  all  cried 
'  Bravo  ! '  '  Bravo  ! '  repeatedly,  and  all  saluted  respectfully. 
There  was  not  one  among  them  who  did  not  gaze  on  the  hero  of 
Plevna  with  the  greatest  admiration  and  sympathy.  Prince  Charles 
of  Rumania,  who  had  arrived,  rode  up,  and  repeated,  unwittingly, 
almost  every  word  of  the  Grand  Duke,  and  likewise  shook  hands 
with  Osman,  who  again  rose  and  bowed,  this  time  in  grim  silence. 
He  wore  a  loose  blue  cloak,  with  no  apparent  mark  on  it  to  desig- 
nate his  rank,  and  a  red  fez.  He  is  a  large,  strongly-built  man. 
The  lower  part  of  his  face  is  covered  with  a  short,  black  beard,  with- 
out a  streak  of  gray,  and  he  has  a  large  Roman  nose  and  black  eyes. 
'  It  is  a  grand  face,'  exclaimed  Colonel  Gaillard,  the  French  military 
attache.  *  I  was  almost  afraid  of  seeing  him,  lest  my  expectation 
should  be  disappointed  ;  but  he  more  than  fulfills  my  ideal.  It  is 
the  face  of  a  great  military  chieftain.'  Said  young  Skobeleff  :  '  I 
am  glad  to  have  seen  him.  Osman  Ghazi  he  is,  and  Osman  the 
victorious  he  will  remain,  in  spite  of  his  surrender.'  " 

Osman  had  certainly  done  all  that  could  be  required  of  him. 
Coming  from  a  direction  to  which  the  Russians  had  neglected  to 
pay  any  attention,  he  had  occupied  the  town  of  Plevna  almost  be- 
fore the  Russians  knew  that  he  was  on  the  way.  He  had  inflicted 
three  severe  defeats  upon  the  Russians,  had  changed  an  open  town  into 
a  fortress^  proving  himself  in  this  respect  fully  a  match  for  Todleben, 
and  had  kept  up  communication  for  a  long  time  with  Sophia  and 
Widin,  whence  he  drew  his  supplies.  It  was  not  until  the  latter  part 
of  October,  when  the  Russian  Guards  and  Grenadiers  arrived  at  the 
seat  of  war,  that  the  Russians  began  to  operate  with  success.  Osman 
was  now  completely  cut  off  from  the  outside  world,  and  General 
Todleben's  plan  of  reducing  the  garrison  by  starvation,  could  be 
carried  into  effect.  It  was  Osman's  work  that  the  army  of  invasion 
was  brought  to  a  standstill  for  over  four  months.  He  had  engaged 
an  army  three  and  four  times  as  large  as  his  own  in  a  direction 
entirely  aside  of  the  main  line  of  invasion,  and  thus  gained  for  his 
Government  time  to  raise  new  armies,  and  to  complete  the  works  of 
fortification.  By  his  defense  of  Plevna  he  had  raised  the  military 
reputation  of  Turkey,  which  had  begun  to  wane  in  consequence  of 
the  continued  Turkish  reverses.  He  had  also  inflicted  a  loss  upon 


cj-6  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

%J  +J 

the  Russians  and  Rumanians,  amounting  to  not  less  than  30,000  to 
35,000  killed  and  wounded,  the  killed  in  all  probability  not  amount- 
ing to  less  than  15,000. 

The  suffering  among  the  Turks  in  Plevna  was  described  as  very 
great  by  all  accounts.  The  special  correspondent  of  the  Daily 
News,  with  General  Gourko,  who  visited  Plevna  immediately  after 
its  surrender,  states  that  the  awful  misery  and  wretchedness  found 
within  the  narrow  limits  of  that  place  could  not  be  pictured  even  by 
those  who  had  become  familiar  with  the  varied  incidents  of  the 
siege.  Such  ghastly  horrors  have  hardly  been  paralleled  since  the 
days  of  the  plague,  in  past  centuries.  "When  Osman  Pasha  at- 
tempted his  sortie,  he  made  no  provision  for  the  sick  and  wounded 
in  the  place,  of  whom  there  were  thousands,  and  the  Russians  did 
not  at  first  attend  to  them.  It  was  not  until  the  morning  of  the 
third  day  that  something  was  done.  The  dead  were  then  separated 
from  the  living,  with  which  they  were  crowded  in  small,  unventilated, 
pestilential  rooms,  and  food  was  given  to  those  who  were  still  alive. 
Many,  however,  died  while  eating  it,  the  effort  being  too  great  for 
their  waning  strength.  The  removal  of  the  dead  was  at  once  com- 
menced, and  was  still  going  on,  but  with  most  inadequate  means, 
only  three  ox-carts  and  a  score  or  so  of  men  being  employed.  The 
brutality  with  which  the  work  was  being  performed  is  described  as 
terrible  to  witness.  The  correspondent  blames  the  Russians  for 
being  unprepared  to  deal  with  the  sick  and  wounded,  whom  they 
knew  beforehand  they  would  find  in  Plevna,  and  says  that  a  month 
before  the  place  fell  proper  officers  should  have  been  appointed  to 
prepare  everything  for  the  care  of  the  surrendered  troops. 

On  December  llth,  the  day  after  the  surrender  of  Plevna,  the 
Czar  paid  a  visit  to  the  town,  riding  through  the  streets,  and  lunched 
in  a  small  house,  where  Osman  Pasha  was  presented  to  him.  The 
scene  is  thus  described  by  an  eye-witness :  "  When  Osman  Pasha 
was  brought  before  the  Emperor,  he  was  carried  by  a  Cossack  officer 
and  one  of  his  attendants.  On  passing  through  the  yard  to  the 
house  in  which  the  Czar  was  lunching  in  Plevna,  many  of  the  staff 
who  were  breakfasting,  rose  from  their  tables  and  saluted  the  brave 
General,  crying, '  Bravo  !  bravo  !  Osman.'  The  Pasha  acknowledged 
the  compliment  by  nodding  and  smiling."  The  Czar  shook  hands 
with  the  captive  General,  and  told  him  that,  in  consideration  of  his 
brave  defense  of  Plevna,  he  had  given  orders  that  his  sword  should 
be  returned  to  him,  and  that  he  could  wear  it. 


THE    MEETING    BETWEEN    OSMAN    PASHA,    THE    GRAND    DUKE    NICHOLAS, 
AND    PRINCE    CHARLES    OF    RUMANIA. 


CHAPTEK  YII. 

THE  SECOND  CAMPAIGN  IN  ARMENIA. 

A  Summer's  rest  in  Asia— Position  of  the  Armies— The  Russians  again  approach  Kara 
—Battles  of  Kisil  Tepe,  Tagni,  and  Aladj a  Dagh— Retreat  of  Mukhtar  Pasha— Ad- 
vance of  Gen.  Tergukassoff  on  the  Southern  line — Battle  of  Deve  Boyun,  before 
Erzcrum — Capture  of  Kars. 

FOR  several  weeks  after  the  retreat  of  the  Russian  armies  from 
their  advanced  positions  in  Turkish  Armenia,  no  events  happened 
that  changed  the  strategical  situation.  During  July  all  of  the 
Russian  columns  retired  to  near  the  positions  from  which  they  had 
set  out  in  April,  and  there  waited  for  reinforcements,  from 
the  boundary  line  between  Russian  and  Turkish  Territory  to 
Orzugeti,  near  Poti  and  Fort  St.  Nicholas ;  Gen.  Loris  Melikoff  in 
front  of  Alexandropol,  and  facing  Kars  and  the  army  of  Mukhtar 
Pasha ;  and  Gen.  Tergukassofi  in  the  neighborhood  of  Igdir,  where  he 
confronted  the  Turkish  right  wing,  which  now  held  Bayazid.  The 
enemy  likewise  did  little  to  disturb  the  mid-summer  quiet,  their 
most  noteworthy  movement  being  an  attempt  to  retake  Ardahan, 
which  Gen.  Komaroff  held  fast  against  them.  In  the  meantime  they 
diligently  improved  the  opportunity  afforded  them  to  re-provision 
Kars  and  strengthen  the  fortifications  of  Bayazid.  Mukhtar  Pasha 
established  his  headquarters  at  Sabatan,  one  of  the  ancient 
capitals  of  Armenia,  while  his  army,  numbering  forty  battalions,  was 
encamped  in  fortified  positions  on  the  northern  slopes  of  the 
Aladja  Mountains,  near  Yisinkoi.  A  few  skirmishes  took  place 
between  the  centers  in  July.  About  the  middle  of  the  month  the 
Russians  crossed  the  frontier  to  a  point  near  their  old  camp  at 
Zaim,  whence  they  attacked  the  Turks.  Reinforcements  began  to 
arrive  in  the  latter  days  of  July,  during  which  the  Russians  continued 
their  reconnoissances  in  front  of  the  Turkish  positions,  which,  how- 
ever, led  to  no  important  results.  At  the  beginning  of  August, 
Gen.  Melikoff  moved  his  line  around,  so  as  to  extend  his  left  to  near 
the  ruins  of  Ani,  another  of  the  ancient  capitals  of  the  country,  on 
the  Arpa  Tchai  River,  about  twelve  miles  south-east  of  Kars,  and 
threatened  the  Turkish  right,  while  his  center  was  established  opposite 

(339) 


340  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

the  Turkish  headquarters,  and  his  right  at  Kurukdara,  about  six 
miles  north  of  his  center.  The  central  camp  at  Bash  Kadiklar 
was  situated  in  the  plain,  near  one  of  the  roads  from  Kars  to 
Alexandropol,  and  was  the  scene,  in  the  Crimean  war,  of  an  im- 
portant battle,  in  which  the  Russians  defeated  the  considerably 
superior  forces  of  the  Turks.  To  the  south  and  south-west  of  it  lay 
the  camp  of  Mukhtar  Pasha,  spread  along  the  flanks  of  the  mount- 
ains. Nearly  half  way  to  the  Turkish  position  were  three  extinct 
craters,  which  were  occupied  by  the  Russian  troops,  and  still  closer  to 
the  mountains  was  another  eminence,  which  had  been  strongly 
fortified  by  the  Turks.  One  of  the  intervening  hills  was  Kisil  Tepe, 
which  later  in  the  month  was  the  object  of  a  hardly-contested  bat- 
tle. A  reconnoissance  in  force  was  made  by  the  Russians  against 
Kars  on  the  18th  of  August,  the  object  of  the  demonstration  being, 
according  to  the  Russian  accounts,  to  divert  attention  from  some 
contemplated  movements  of  Gen.  Tergukassoff.  An  engagement  of 
several  hours'  duration  took  place,  at  the  end  of  which  the  Russians 
withdrew,  in  accordance,  as  they  professed,  with  their  previously 
arranged  plans.  The  fighting  was  renewed  on  the  next  day,  and 
was  sustained  with  spirit  on  both  sides  until  dusk,  when  the  Rus- 
sians fell  back  in  good  order. 

On  the  25th  of  August  the  Turks  made  an  attack  on  the  Russians 
for  the  purpose  of  gaining  possession  of  the  heights  of  Kisil  Tepe. 
This  position  was  an  important  one  to  either  army,  standing  directly 
in  front  of  the  Russian  camp  at  Kadiklar,  and  forming  an  excellent 
point  from  which  to  direct  offensive  operations  against  the  Turkish 
camp  on  the  opposite  side  of  it.  Notwithstanding  its  value  was  well 
known,  the  Russians  had  had  possession  of  it  for  a  month  without 
making  any  effort  to  fortify  it.  On  the  24th  of  August,  Gen.  Heli- 
kofi's  force  was  weakened  by  the  dispatch  of  Gen.  Dewell  with  a 
part  of  the  command  to  the  assistance  of  Gen.  Tergukassoff,  and  in 
consequence  the  strength  of  the  advance  guard  on  Kisil  Tepe  was 
reduced.  An  artillery  force  was  ordered  to  go  to  the  support  of  the 
guard,  but  the  artillerists  delayed  moving  till  morning.  At  about 
three  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  25th,  a  band  of  Circassian 
cavalry  advanced  up  the  hill,  and  were  challenged  by  the  Russian 
sentinels.  This  force,  it  was  reported  in  the  Russian  camp,  was 
commanded  by  a  woman,  the  daughter  of  an  Arab  Sheik,  who  was 
killed  in  the  battle.  The  Circassians,  who  had  obtained  the  Rus- 
sian watchword,  answered  correctly  in  Russian  to  the  challenge  of 


THE  SECOND  CAMPAIGN  IN  ARMENIA. 


341 


the  sentinels.  While  the  Russians  were  hesitating  whether  to  fire, 
the  Circassians  opened  their  ranks  and  exposed  a  force  of  Turkish 
infantry  and  artillery  which  had  been  concealed,  and  at  the  same 
time  an  active  fusillade  was  directed  upon  the  guard.  In  half  an 
hour  the  hill  was  in  possession  of  the  Turks,  and  they  were  put- 
ting their  guns  into  position.  At  daybreak  the  Turks  opened  a 
sudden  fire  upon  the  Russian  camp,  to  the  great  surprise  of  its  oc- 
cupants. Gen.  Tchavtchavadze  was  sent  to  retake  the  hill;  he 
was  wounded,  and  Gen.  Sheremetyeff  took  the  command  in  his 
place.  He  was  finally  compelled  to  retire  from  a  position  of  ad- 
vantage that  he  had  gained,  when  the  whole  army  was  led  to  the 
assault.  The  battle  raged  fiercely  during  the  afternoon.  The  Turks 
made  several  efforts  to  take  the  Russian  camp  at  Kurukdara,  a  few 
miles  north  of  the  point  of  battle,  but  were  defeated  on  each  oc- 
casion. The  tents  at  this  camp  had,  however,  all  been  taken  up, 
and  everything  had  been  made  ready  for  immediate  removal,  which, 
fortunately  for  the  Russians,  did  not  become  necessary.  The  Turks 
kept  the  hill  which  they  had  gained,  but  were  not  able  to  drive  the 
Russians  from  any  other  of  their  positions.  They  claimed  to  have 
captured  a  considerable  quantity  of  arms  and  ammunition.  The  Rus- 
sians acknowledged  a  loss  of  1,007  men.  The  affair  was  very 
Creditable  to  the  Turks,  as  it  showed  their  ability  to  fight  well  on 
the  offensive,  and  in  the  open  country,  as  well  as  behind  earth- 
works. On  the  day  following  the  battle  of  Kisil  Tepe,  August  26th, 
the  Grand  Duke  Michael  arrived  at  the  Russian  camp  and  took 
command  in  person,  leaving  to  Gen.  Melikoff  the  execution  of  his 
orders.  On  the  30th  of  August  the  Turkish  quarters  were  pushed 
forward  close  up  to  the  positions  which  the  Russians  had  occupied. 

Gen.  Tergukassoff,  although  he  had  received  reinforcements  which 
swelled  his  command  to  25,000  men,  remained  during  August  in 
the  position  near  Igdir,  which  he  had  taken  immediately  after  his 
retreat  from  Armenia,  where  he  for  a  long  time  kept  himself  on  the 
defensive.  His  forces  were  so  posted  that  he  was  able  to  command 
most  of  the  important  roads  of  the  region,  particularly  those  lead- 
ing from  Bayazid  and  Erivan  to  Alexandropol,  and  the  roads  which* 
diverge  eastwardly  from  the  Erivan-Bayazid  road  and  converge  in. 
this  neighborhood.  His  army  presented  a  line  of  about  ten  miles 
in  length,  intrenched  upon  the  high  plain  of  Igdir,  with  the  Araxes 
River  about  a  day's  march  in  his  rear,  and  lay  close  upon  the  north- 
ern foot  of  the  boundary-hills  between  Russia  and  Turkey.  His 
18 


342 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


adversary,  Ismail  Pasha,  the  Kurd,  with  about  47  battalions,  50 
guns,  and  12,000  irregular  Kurdish  cavalry,  occupied  positions 
opposite  to  him,  also  on  Russian  territory,  grouped  around  the 
passes  through  which  the  roads  from  Bayazid  and  Diadin  to  Igdir 
cross  the  boundary-hills,  while  his  reserves  occupied  the  heights  of 
Tchingili,  close  upon  the  border.  The  Turks  made  several  attacks 
upon  the  Russian  lines  during  August  and  September,  which  were 
not  attended  by  any  noteworthy  results.  An  attack  was  made  upon 
the  whole  Russian  line  on  the  5th  of  August,  which  was  continued 
in  skirmishes  for  several  days.  The  affair  was  followed  by  a  slight 
change  in  the  positions  of  both  armies,  Gen.  Tergukassoff  drawing 
back  a  part  of  his  line,  and  Ismail  making  movements  indicating 
an  intention  to  concentrate  his  forces  in  the  direction  of  the  narrow 
defile  of  Mysye.  The  Turks  resumed  the  offensive  toward  the  end 
of  the  month,  when  a  number  of  skirmishes  took  place,  all  in  Rus- 
sian territory,  in  which  the  assailants  were  generally  defeated.  An 
attack  upon  both  the  advance  guard  and  the  right  wing  of  the  Rus- 
sians on  the  18th  of  September,  was  defeated.  Another  attack  was 
made  on  the  27th  against  the  Russian  right  wing,  commanded  by 
Gen.  Dewell. 

The  impression  was  allowed  to  go  out  at  the  beginning  of  the 
second  campaign  by  the  Russians,  that  the  Erivan  column  was  about 
to  resume  the  offensive  in  connection  with  that  from  Alexandropol, 
and  the  fact  that  Gen.  Dewell  had  been  sent  down  to  join  Gen. 
Tergukassoff,  and  had  to  be  recalled  after  the  battle  of  Kisil  Tepe, 
strengthened  this  belief.  If  such  a  purpose  was  entertained  by  the 
Russians,  it  was  given  up  after  the  battle  of  Kisil  Tepe.  The  sub- 
sequent movements  of  that  campaign  indicate  that  it  was  not  de- 
signed that  Gen.  Tergukassoff  should  advance  at  once,  but  that  the 
purpose  was  to  keep  him  at  Igdir  with  a  threatening  force,  so  as  to 
keep  Ismail  Pasha  and  his  Kurds  employed,  and  guard  the  left  flank 
of  the  Alexandropol  column  from  attack  by  them  while  it  executed 
the  real  object  of  the  campaign  in  the  direct  movement  against  Kars 
and  the  main  army  of  Mukhtar  Pasha.  In  harmony  with  this  plan, 
a  large  part  of  Gen.  TergukassofPs  force  was  withdrawn  from  him 
when  it  was  needed  to  strengthen  the  Alexandropol  column  for  the 
important  work  it  was  to  perform  in  October.  The  persistent 
attacks  of  Ismail  Pasha,  which  were  nearly  always  made  against 
Tergukassoff's  right  wing,  had  for  their  object  to  break  his  commu- 
nication with  Gen.  Melikoff 's  division.  Gen.  Melikoff  received  the 


THE  SECOND  CAMPAIGN  IN  ARMENIA.  343 

full  complement  of  the  reinforcements  which  he  was  expecting  toward 
the  end  of  September,  and  was  ready  by  the  1st  of  October  to  begin 
offensive  operations  in  earnest.  The  weather  was  still  favorable, 
but  the  season  was  fast  approaching  when  active  operations  could 
not  be  prosecuted.  The  contemplated  movements  must  be  begun 
without  delay,  if  the  .Russians  would  secure  any  advantages  in 
Armenia  before  the  close  of  the  year. 

The  Turkish  line  was  stretched  out  to  a  length  greatly  out  of 
proportion  to  the  strength  of  its  force.  It  extended  from  the 
Yagni  hills  on  the  Alexandropol-Kars  road,  south-eastwardly  over 
the  Aladja  Dagh,  twenty  miles  to  the  Arpa  Tchai  River,  which  at 
this  point  forms  the  boundary  line  between  Turkey  and  Russia.  A 
triangular  group  of  posts  stretched  out  six  miles  in  front  of  the 
main  line  occupied  the  heights  of  Hadjiveli,  Sabatan,  and  Kisil 
Tepe.  The  last  of  these  points  proved  to  be  particularly  exposed  to 
the  attacks  of  the  Russians,  demanded  the  services  of  a  detachment  of 
troops  which  could  be  of  no  advantage  to  the  main  work  of  defense, 
and  in  effect  weakened  the  Turkish  lines  and  increased  their  dan- 
gers. This  line  was  intended  to  cover  all  the  ways  by  which  Kars 
could  be  reached  by  the  invading  force.  Its  important  points  were 
the  Yagni  hills,  the  Olya  Tepe,  and  the  Aladja  Dagh.  The  Yagni 
hills  are  the  Little  Yagni  Tepe  and  the  Yagni  Tepe,  standing  on 
either  side  of  the  Alexandropol-Kars  road,  the  first  rising  some 
seven  or  eight  hundred  feet  above  the  surrounding  hills,  and  about 
6,760  feet  above  the  sea,  and  the  latter  being  much  higher.  These 
hills  were  occupied  by  the  left  of  the  Turks,  and  their  possession 
gave  the  control  of  the  road.  The  Olya  Tepe  lies  between  the 
Yagni  hills  and  the  Aladja  Dagh,  rising  about  one  thousand  feet 
above  the  neighboring  hills,  and,  with  the  Great  Yagni,  covers  the 
road  to  the  important  point  of  Visinkoi,  which  was  the  real  key  to 
the  Turkish  position.  The  Aladja  Dagh  is  a  large  range  about 
eighteen  miles  south-east  of  Kars,  its  eastern  declivities  sloping 
down  to  the  Arpa  Tchai  below  Ani.  Its  northern  slopes  were 
dotted  with  the  tents  of  Mukhtar  Pasha's  army.  The  Russians 
saw  that  if  they  could  gain  possession  of  the  Yagni  hills,  they  would 
not  only  completely  disarrange  the  Turkish  left  wing,  but  would  also 
be  able  to  establish  themselves  in  the  valley  through  which  the 
Yisinkoi  road  runs,  and  be  in  a  position  whence  they  might  hope  to 
succeed  in  separating  the  right  wing  from  Kars.  It  was  accordingly 
decided  to  make  a  combined  movement  for  the  purpose  of  attacking 


344  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

these  hills  and  flanking  the  Turkish  right  wing.  It  was  arranged 
that  while  the  right  and  center  attacked  the  enemy  in  front,  and 
forced  its  way  through  between  the  Great  Yagni  and  Olya  Tepe, 
another  body  should  attempt  an  advance  in  the  rear  of  the  Aladja 
Dagh. 

The  attack  was  begun  on  Tuesday  morning,  the  2d  of  October, 
with  an  assault  upon  the  Great  Yagni.  The  Turks  seem  to  have 
been  taken  by  surprise,  and  the  battalion  with  which  they  held  the 
hill  was  cut  to  pieces  or  captured  after  an  obstinate  resistance.  The 
time  during  which  this  body  engaged  the  attention  of  the  Russians 
was  well  improved  by  the  rest  of  the  Turkish  force  in  preparation  to 
make  a  more  effective  resistance,  so  that  the  Russians  found  that 
they  had  still  a  day  of  hard  fighting  and  even  disaster  before  them. 
The  Little  Yagni  was  found  to  be  so  strongly  fortified  that  an  attempt 
to  assault  it  was  considered  premature.  Repeated  assaults  were  made 
on  either  side,  in  which,  while  the  Russians  held  the  ground  they 
had  already  obtained,  they  were  not  able  to  make  any  further  ad- 
vances. They  fortified  themselves  in  the  positions  they  had  occu- 
pied, and  bivouacked  at  night  on  the  Great  Yagni.  A  feint  attack 
was  made  on  the  same  day  on  the  hill  of  Kisil  Tepe,  and  was  re- 
pulsed. The  flank  movement  against  the  Turkish  right,  which  was 
made  in  connection  with  these  attacks,  was  undertaken  with  a  force 
less  than  half  of  what  had  been  contemplated  in  the  original  plan  of 
the  battle.  Marching  from  the  Arpa  Tchai  near  Ani,  the  flanking 
force  attempted  to  get  between  the  Turks  on  the  Aladja  Dagh  and 
Ears.  The  movement  came  very  near  succeeding,  and  the  Russians 
had  at  onetime  actually  put  themselves  in  the  desired  position,  where 
they  were  met  by  Hussein  Hami  Pasha  with  three  brigades,  and  driven 
back  to  the  Arpa  Tchai.  On  Friday,  the  5th  of  October,  the  Rus- 
sians evacuated  their  positions  at  the  Great  Yagni,  and  fell  back  to 
Karajal,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  their  old  headquarters  at  Kur- 
ukdara.  The  losses  of  both  parties  in  these  three  days'  engagements 
were  severe.  The  Turks  acknowledged  a  loss  of  about  2,500  men. 

The  plan  of  the  Russian  operations  was  revealed  by  this  move- 
ment a  ad  those  which  followed  it,  to  be,  not  so  much  to  defeat  the 
Turks  in  pitched  battles,  as  to  take  advantage  of  their  exposed  posi- 
tions, annoy  them  at  their  weaker  points,  and  involve  them  in  daily 
engagements  so  as  to  wear  their  force  away  slowly,  but  surely,  and 
reduce  them  to  so  weak  a  condition  that  ultimately  they  should  find 
it  impossible  to  offer  further  serious  resistance.  They  were  helped  by 


THE  SECOND  CAMPAIGN  IN  ARMENIA.  345 

the  exigencies  of  the  Turks  in  Europe,  which  made  it  necessary  to 
dispatch  a  part  of  Mukhtar  Pasha's  forces  to  the  assistance  of  their 
hard-pressed  armies  in  Bulgaria. 

Mukhtar  Pasha  perceived  that  the  holding  of  his  more  advanced 
and  exposed  positions  was  disadvantageous  to  him,  and  undertook  to 
put  his  forces  into  a  more  compact  shape.  During  the  night  of  the 
8th  of  October,  he  abandoned  the  Kisil  Tepe  and  the  other  positions 
which  he  held  in  front  of  his  main  line,  and  readjusted  his  forces,  so 
that  on  the  next  morning  the  Little  Yagni  hill  was  held  by  a  brig- 
ade, and  Yisinkoi  by  a  division,  while  the  commander-in-chief,  with 
the  main  army,  consisting  of  thirty-three  battalions,  occupied  the 
slopes  of  the  Aladja  Dagh  above  Kharkana,  with  a  detached  post  on 
the  Olya  Tepe,  connecting  Yisinkoi  with  the  main  camp.  On  the 
9th,  the  Russians  advanced,  and  occupied  Kisil  Tepe,  Sabatan,  Had- 
jiveli,  and  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Great  Yagni.  They  made  artil- 
lery attacks  on  the  Turks  during  the  next  two  days,  resulting  in 
severe  losses  on  both  sides.  "The  Turkish  camp  now  (October 
12th),"  says  an  English  correspondent  who  wrote  from  Erzerum  a 
few  days  afterward,  "  had  the  appearance  of  being  besieged ;  their 
whole  front,  extending  from  the  Little  Yagni  to  the  Aladja  Dagh, 
was  defended  by  almost  continuous  shelter  trenches,  batteries  being 
thrown  up  in  the  most  favorable  situations,  while  opposite  them,  in 
the  plain  below,  lay  the  vast  army  of  the  Czar,  outnumbering  them 
two  to  one,  and  bringing  four  guns  to  bear  on  each  piece  the  Turks 
could  produce." 

On  Sunday,  October  14th,  the  Russian  left  having  been  extended 
to  the  banks  of  the  Arpa  Tchai,  beyond  Ani,  a  division  under  Gen. 
Lazareff  moved  south  of  the  Aladja  Dagh,  drove  the  Turks  from  the 
Orlok  heights  upon  Yisinkoi  and  Kars,  and  occupied  Orlok,  thus 
completely  turning  Mukhtar's  right.  On  the  morning  of  Monday, 
the  15th,  a  heavy  cannonade  was  directed  against  Olya  Tepe,  which 
was  the  key  to  the  Turkish  position.  In  the  afternoon  Gen.  Hei- 
mann,  with  about  10,000  infantry,  carried  Olya  Tepe  by  assault,  cut- 
ting the  Turkish  army  in  two. 

While  this  was  going  on,  the  Little  Yagni,  held  by  Mehemet 
Pasha  with  ten  battalions,  four  siege  and  six  field  pieces,  was  hotly 
contested.  All  day  long  the  Russians  endeavored  to  get  a  footing  on 
the  hill,  but  were  thrown  back.  At  night,  however,  fhe  Turkish 
ammunition  having  failed,  and  the  Russians  having  surrounded 
them,  Mehemet  Pasha,  to  avoid  the  necessity,  which  he  foresaw 


346  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

would  be  forced  upon  him  in  the  morning,  of  surrendering, 
abandoned  his  guns,  having  first  dismounted  them  and  removed  the 
breech  pieces,  and  cut  his  way  through  to  Kars. 

The  defense  of  the  Olya  Tepe  is  described  from  the  Turkish  side 
as  having  been  most  gallant,  but  the  losses  of  the  four  battalions 
upon  which  it  fell  were  most  severe.  "  The  Russian  artillery  was 
as  accurate  as  it  was  heavy,  the  shells,  fitted  with  time  fuses,  burst- 
ing over  the  crest  with  terrible  precision.  Mukhtar,  dreading  the 
loss  of  this  hill,  the  connecting  link  between  Visinkoi  and  the 
Aladja  Dagh,  detached  five  battalions  to  its  support.  Three  des- 
perate attacks  had  been  repulsed,  and  yet  the  garrison  showed  no 
signs  of  flinching.  These  five  battalions  moved  out  in  column  ;  one 
at  last  extended,  and  sending  half  a  battalion  to  the  right,  the  re- 
maining half  reached  the  top  in  safety,  when  the  rest  of  the  column 
moved  slowly  up.  From  some  unexplained  cause  a  panic  seized 
these  men,  and  they  turned  and  broke,  then  re-formed,  and  slowly 
retired.  Their  conduct  was  simply  inexplicable ;  an  eye-witness 
assures  me  they  never  returned  a  shot  to  the  heavy  fire  which  the 
Russians  poured  into  them,  but  marched  slowly  and  sullenly  off,  ut- 
terly regardless  of  the  hail  of  bullets  rattling  about  them,  knocking 
over  man  after  man."  The  panic  spread,  "  position  after  position 
was  abandoned  as  soon  as  threatened,  and  a  scene  of  the  wildest  con- 
fusion ensued,  crowds  of  unarmed  fugitives  rushing  wildly  along 
the  road  to  Kars,  while  others  strove  madly  to  reach  the  Aladja 
Dagh.  Mukhtar  Pasha  showed  the  greatest  gallantry,  but  his  ex- 
ample, his  orders,  were  of  no  avail.  Officers  were  menaced  by  their 
men,  and  they  soon  joined  in  the  general  rout." 

The  three  divisions  constituting  the  Turkish  right  wing  had  in  the 
meantime  been  surrounded  and  attacked,  and  driven  from  their  forti- 
fied camp  with  great  loss.  Omer  Pasha,  with  2,000  cavalry,  surrender- 
ed early  in  the  day,  and  by  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  Monday, 
the  remainder  of  this  part  of  the  army,  with  seven  Pashas,  thirty-two 
guns,  and  twenty  battalions,  had  laid  down  their  arms.  The  Rus- 
sians claimed  that  during  the  whole  battle  they  captured  18,000  men 
and  40  cannon,  and  gave  their  own  loss  at  the  Aladja  Dagh  at  1,441 
men.  Their  loss  in  the  other  parts  of  the  field  was  not  stated.  The 
Turks  claimed  that  their  battalions  numbered  only  between  three  and 
four  hundred  men  each,  and  that  their  loss,  consequently,  by  the  sur- 
render of  their  left  wing,  was  only  about  9,000  men.  With  these  men 
they  lost  also  their  ammunition  and  commissariat  stores,  camp  bag- 


THE  SECOND  CAMPAIGN  IN  ARMENIA.  340 

gage,  animals,  and  hospitals.  The  Commander-in-chief  escaped  with 
difficulty  to  Kara. 

Mukhtar  Pasha  succeeded  in  collecting  a  force  of  about  14,000 
men,  remnants  of  40  battalions.  With  4,000  men  and  five  mountain 
guns  he  fell  hack  to  Bardess,  and  afterward  to  Koprikoi,  leaving 
Hussein  Ilatni  Pasha,  with  10,000  men,  to  defend  Kars.  This  force 
was  not  considered  sufficient  to  hold  one-quarter  of  the  defenses, 
and  the  commander  acknowledged  that  the  men  were  cowed  and 
worn  out,  that  he  could  not  hope  to  hold  the  fortress  unless  succor 
should  arrive  soon,  and  that  he  feared  that  it  would  be  carried  at 
the  first  assault. 

The  uncertain  fortunes  of  war  are  curiously  illustrated  by  the 
fact  that  just  previous  to  the  opening  of  the  campaign  which  led  to 
this  disastrous  defeat  of  the  Turks,  Mukhtar  Pasha,  as  well  as  his 
fellow-general,  Osman  Pasha,  in  Europe,  had  received  from  the  Sul- 
tan, in  acknowledgment  of  his  services  and  victories  in  the  summer 
campaign,  the  title  of  Ghazi,  or  the  conqueror,  the  highest  honor 
which  can  be  given  to  a  Turkish  general,  and  one  that  is  rarely  con- 
ferred ;  and  that  on  the  morning  of  the  day  the  Russian  attack  was 
began  on  his  position,  he  held  a  review  of  troops,  at  which  he  dis- 
tributed to  the  men  who  had  most  distinguished  themselves  in  the 
battle  at  Kisil  Tepe,  the  decorations  which  had  been  forwarded  to 
them  by  the  Sultan.  He  himself  received,  besides  his  proud  title, 
a  sword  set  with  brilliants,  a  pair  of  handsome  Arab  chargers,  and 
the  cross  of  the  first  class  of  the  Osmanlieh  set  in  brilliants. 

Koprikoi,  the  position  to  which  Mukhtar  Pasha  retired  after  his 
defeat  at  Aladja  Dagh,  being  situated  at  the  junction  of  several 
roads,  was  formerly  considered  a  position  of  importance  for  the  de- 
fense of  Erzerum,  and  was  selected  for  the  purpose  by  Sir  Fen  wick 
Williams  in  1855 ;  the  remains  of  the  earthworks  which  he  threw 
up  then  still  remain,  and  formed  the  foundation  of  the  works  which 
were  used  by  the  Turks.  The  value  of  the  position  has,  however, 
diminished  since  the  use  of  rifled  arms  has  become  general,  since  it 
is  commanded  by  hills  from  which  it  is  easily  reached  by  long-range 
arms. 

Ismail  Pasha,  on  the  17th  of  October,  after  hearing  of  the  defeat 
of  Mukhtar  Pasha  at  the  Aladja  Dagh,  moved  from  his  position 
near  Igdir  and  marched  to  join  the  comrnander-in-chief  on  the  road 
to  Erzerum.  He  was  followed  by  Gen.  Tergukassoff,  but  was  not 
seriously  molested  by  him,  and  joined  Mukhtar  Pasha  at  Koprikoi 


350  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

on  the  27th.  The  Russians  were  moving  in  force  upon  the  Turkish 
position,  and  threatened  to  flank  it.  Mukhtar  Pasha,  finding  that  it 
was  becoming  untenable,  burned  his  stores  at  Kara  Kilissa,  and 
began  a  retreat.  The  backward  movement  was  executed  in  good 
order  to  Hassan  Kaleh.  The  Turkish  rear  guard  having  halted  at 
that  place,  the  Russians  came  down  upon  it  and  effected  a  surprise, 
by  means  of  which  two  Turkish  battalions  were  taken  prisoners. 
The  correspondent  of  the  London  Daily  Telegraph  was  among  the 
captured,  but  he  was  released  by  Gen.  Heimann,  after  having  had 
everything  except  his  horses  stolen  from  him  by  the  Cossacks.  The 
Turks  halted  upon  the  heights  of  Deve  Boyun,  in  front  of  Erzerum, 
and  prepared  to  make  a  stand  for  the  defense  of  their  capital.  Feizi 
Pasha — the  Hungarian  Gen.  Kohlman — who  had  been  left  in  com- 
mand at  Erzerum,  had  anticipated  that  this  would  be  the  result  of 
the  movements  that  were  going  on,  and  had  already  prepared  to 
give  the  army  a  good  position  on  the  heights.  He  had  drafted  every 
able-bodied  man  in  the  city  to  work  on  the  intrenchments,  haul  up 
guns,  and  man  the  batteries. 

The  Deve  Boyun,  or  Camel's  Neck,  is  the  crest  of  a  range 
of  mountains  some  two  thousand  feet  higher  than  the  plain 
below,  over  which  the  road  from  Koprikoi  passes  about  six  miles 
east  of  Erzerum.  It  had  been  selected  as  a  defensive  position  by 
Sir  Fenwick  Williams  in  1855,  and  Hassan  Pasha,  the  governor  of 
the  city,  and  Gen.  Kohlman,  had  spent  much  labor  upon  it  since 
July,  1877",  in  building  earthworks,  so  that  it  was  considered  in  a 
good  condition  to  resist  an  attacking  force. 

The  Russians,  Generals  Heimann  and  Tergukassoff,  having  effected 
a  junction,  advanced  against  the  left  of  the  Turkish  lines  on  the 
heights  of  Deve  Boyun,  on  the  morning  of  the  5th  of  November. 
The  Turks  awaited  the  assault  in  their  intrenchments.  The  Rus- 
sians came  up,  and  were  repulsed.  They  returned  with  repeated 
assaults,  but  were  again  and  again  repulsed,  and  finally  retired  at 
about  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

Soon  after  noon  the  attention  of  the  Turks  was  directed  to  the 
appearance  of  a  body  of  Russian  cavalry  manceuvering  in  the  plain 
as  if  about  to  make  an  assault  upon  the  Turkish  center.  The  idea 
of  a  cavalry  attack  against  such  a  position  was  preposterous,  and 
the  Turks  were  very  much  puzzled  by  the  demonstration.  It  was  a 
feint,  designed  to  draw  the  Turks  into  an  ambuscade.  During  the 
previous  night  the  Russians  had  taken  nearly  all  their  infantry  and 


THE  SECOND  CAMPAIGN  IN  ARMENIA. 


351 


noiselessly,  in  the  darkness,  posted  them  in  the  ravines  and  recesses 
of  the  hills.  It  was  a  movement  that  had  to  be  executed  with  great 
skill,  for  the  Turks  could  have  defeated  it  in  a  very  short  time  upon 
the  slightest  warning  that  it  was  going  on,  but  no  one  among  them 
had  any  knowledge  of  it.  The  cavalry  came  nearly  up  to  the  base 
of  the  hill,  presenting  an  imposing  aspect.  They  kept  on  till 
the  Turkish  general  decided  it  was  time  to  meet  them,  and  dis- 
patched eight  battalions  of  infantry  to  attack  them.  Although 
the  cavalry  could  plainly  see  the  operations  of  the  Turks,  they  paid 
no  attention  to  them.  The  Turks  went  down  the  hill  till  they  got 
within  range  of  the  Russians,  and  fired  upon  them.  Their  shots 
began  to  take  effect,  when,  says  a  correspondent  who  was  an  eye- 
witness of  the  engagement : 

"  In  a  moment  everything  is  changed.  From  many  places  on 
the  hill-sides,  where  but  a  moment  ago  there  was  nothing  to  be 
seen  but  the  bare  ground,  start  up  dense  files  of  Russian  infantry. 
The  hills  are  covered  with  them — their  shouts  echo  from  side  to 
side.  In  an  instant  they  are  pouring  fearful  volleys  at  murderously 
short  distances  on  both  flanks  of  the  unsuspecting,  unprepared  Turks. 
Too  confident,  too  anxious  to  punish  the  over-daring  of  the  Russian 
cavalry,  Mukhtar's  men  have  advanced  so  far  down  in  the  valley 
that  there  is  no  longer  left  the  possibility  of  recovery.  The  narrow- 
ness of  the  road,  the  closeness  of  the  overwhelming  fire,  the  advan- 
tageous positions  secured  by  the  enemy — above  all,  the  suddenness 
of  the  attack,  unman  and  paralyze  them." 

Mukhtar  Pasha,  seeing  the  trap  into  which  he  had  fallen,  endeav- 
ored to  retrieve  his  mistake.  Placing  himself  at  the  head  of  two 
battalions,  he  threw  himself  into  the  advanced  shelter-trenches,  and 
tried  to  check  the  Russian  movement.  But  it  was  too  late.  The 
division  under  Ismail  Pasha,  the  Kurd,  turned  and  ran.  Feizi 
Pasha  endeavored  to  stop  their  flight,  but  in  vain.  They  were  com- 
pletely panic-stricken,  and  ran  every  way,  bewildered,  and  unable 
to  make  any  resistance.  The  Russians  advanced  up  the  hill,  reached 
the  intrenchments  as  soon  as  the  Turks  themselves,  and  occupied 
the  positions  as  fast  as  they  reached  them.  The  Turks  were  driven 
over  the  crest  of  the  hill  in  utter  confusion,  abandoning  everything, 
while  the  Russians  pushed  their  advance  with  unabated  vigor.  All 
was  done  with  amazing  speed  and  ease.  It  was  fully  noon  when 
the  Russians  gave  the  first  warning  of  their  presence,  and  at  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  Turkish  army  was  in  full  flight.  Not  a 


352  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

gun  was  fired  at  the  Russians  as  they  advanced  up  the  hill,  but  the 
Turkish  gunners  cut  the  traces  of  their  artillery,  mounted  their 
horses,  and  galloped  away.  The  infantry  struggled  as  well  as  they 
could,  but  they  too  had  at  last  to  join  in  the  retreat. 

The  narrow  roadway  from  Deve  Boyun  to  Erzerum  was  blocked 
by  a  dense  crowd  of  fugitives,  who  would  have  been  annihilated, 
had  not  Feizi  and  Mehemet  Pashas — both  foreign  officers,  and 
no  Turks — taken  a  stand  with  their  brigades,  and  poured  such  a 
fire  upon  the  advancing  columns  of  the  Russians  as  checked  their 
pursuit.  The  demoralized  soldiers,  says  another  correspondent,  who 
was  also  an  eye-witness  of  the  scene,  entered  Erzerum  unpursued 
by  the  foe,  who  really  might  have  followed  them  up  and  gained  pos- 
session of  the  capital  without  striking  another  blow.  All  through 
the  night  the  crowds  of  fugitives  continued  to  pour  into  the  city. 
Many  merely  passed  through  and  deserted  to  their  homes  ;  others, 
worn  out  with  fatigue,  cold,  and  exposure,  threw  themselves  down 
in  the  streets,  and,  in  spite  of  the  pouring  rain  which  was  falling, 
slept,  with  no  cover  but  the  clothes  they  had  on.  Feizi  Pasha  en- 
tered the  place,  having  succeeded  in  drawing  off  his  men  unper- 
ceived  ;  Mehemet  Pasha,  his  fellow  officer,  had  to  fight  his  way 
back.  The  Russians  advanced  to  the  crest  of  the  Deve  Boyun, 
where  they  took  up  a  strong  position  overlooking  Erzerum,  and 
began  to  throw  up  redoubts.  A  number  of  the  Mohammedan  citi- 
zens fled  from  the  city  during  the  evening. 

On  the  6th  the  head  civil  authorities  of  the  town  presented  petitions 
to  Mukhtar  Pasha,  asking  him  to  surrender  the  place  in  order  to 
avoid  the  destruction  attendant  upon  an  investment  and  bombard- 
ment. The  General  replied  that  he  would  have  to  apply  to  the 
Sultan  for  permission  to  carry  out  such  a  request.  Immediately 
afterward  a  summons  came  from  the  Russians  demanding  a  surren- 
der. Mukhtar  again  replied  that  he  must  consult  the  Sultan,  and 
asked  for  three  days'  grace  to  telegraph  to  Constantinople  for  in- 
structions. He  afterward  answered  the  Russians  that  the  Sultan  had 
directed  him  to  hold  the  place  to  the  last  man  and  the  last  cartridge, 
and  he  should  do  so.  On  the  7th,  Gen.  Heimann  sent  him  word 
that  three  days'  grace  would  be  given  him,  after  which  the  bombard- 
ment would  begin.  A  council  of  war  was  held,  at  which  several 
officers  of  the  city,  members  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  priests, 
and  Mohammedan  residents  attended,  and  it  was  resolved  to  defend 
the  place  to  the  last  extremity.  The  Russians  had,  in  the  meantime, 


THE  SECOND  CAMPAIGN  IN  ARMENIA. 


353 


erected  works  commanding  the  road  from  the  Deve  Boyun  and  the 
whole  town. 

On  the  next  two  days  public  criers  went  about  the  streets  an- 
nouncing that  inhabitants  wishing  to  leave  the  city  must  do  so 
before  the  hour  fixed  for  the  bombardment  to  begin. 

On  Monday,  Nov.  9th,  the  Russians  made  an  attack  on  another  of 
the  Turkish  fortified  positions  around  Erzerum,  Fort  Azizie,  situ- 
ated south-east  of  the  town.  The  Turks  were  surprised  for  the 
moment,  and  the  Russians  gained  a  temporary  occupation  of  the 
position ;  but  the  Turks  soon  rallied,  and  turning  upon  their  assail- 
ants, attacked  them  with  vigor,  and  drove  them  out  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet,  after  a  hard  hand-to-hand  contest.  The  Russians  retreated 
to  the  Deve  Boyun,  closely  followed  by  the  Turks,  leaving  a  large 
number  of  killed  and  wounded  in  the  intrenchments,  but  carrying 
off,  as  they  claimed,  a  considerable  number  of  Turks  as  prisoners. 

The  Russians  now  proceeded  to  prepare  for  the  investment  of  Erze- 
rum, beginning  with  the  strengthening  of  their  intrenchments  on  the 
Deve  Boyun,  and  gradually  extending  their  lines  around  the  north 
of  the  city.  Before  the  close  of  the  month  the  snow  had  fallen  to 
the  depth  of  three  feet  on  the  mountains.  The  Russians  held  their 
posts  on  the  Deve  Boyun  while  their  troops  were  quartered  in  the 
neighboring  villages,  and  improved  the  favorable  weather  that  was 
given  them,  in  movements  looking  to  the  cutting  of  the  communi- 
cations with  the  city. 

"While  Generals  Hermann  and  Tergukassoff  were  occupied  with 
their  preparations  for  the  siege  of  Erzerum,  Gen.  Melikoff,  with  the 
Grand  Duke  Michael,  was  pressing  the  investment  of  Kars.  An 
attack  upon  the  fortifications,  with  the  view  of  carrying  them  by 
assault,  was  arranged  for  the  14th  of  November.  It  rained  heavily 
at  that  time,  and  the  attack  had  to  be  postponed.  Frosty  weather 
set  in  on  the  16th,  and  it  was  decided  to  make  the  attack  on  the  17th. 
It  curiously  happened  that  no  newspaper  correspondents  were  present 
at  the  battle,  so  that  the  only  accounts  of  it,  from  eye-witnesses,  that 
have  been  published,  are  given  by  members  of  the  Russian  army. 
The  troops  were  divided  into  five  columns,  the  whole  being  under 
the  command  of  Gen.  Lazareff.  The  night  was  calm  and  frosty, 
cloudless,  and  with  a  full  moon.  The  troops  advanced  noiselessly, 
in  a  silence  that  was  broken  only  by  the  occasional  firing  from  the 
siege  batteries,  continued  as  it  had  been  all  day.  "  Before  us,"  says 
one  of  the  Russian  correspondents,  "  lay  the  plain,  stretching  away 


354  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

forward  to  the  lowest  of  the  enemy's  works,  but  we  could  nowhere 
detect  the  storming  columns,  so  silently  did  they  advance."  The 
account  is  continued  by  another  Russian  correspondent : 

"  Shortly  after  nine  o'clock  were  heard  a  few  musket-shots,  which 
showed  that  the  outposts  were  reached.  Then  thundered  the  cannon, 
and  the  fight  began.  The  storming  columns  met  with  such  a  terrific 
fire  that  nothing  was  heard  but  a  continuous  roll  of  big  guns  and 
musketry.  All  the  forts  were  suddenly,  as  it  were,  girded  about 
with  a  belt  of  fire,  in  some  places  with  several  belts  one  above  the 
other.  The  Kara  Dagh  heights  were  literally  covered  with  flame,  and 
looked  like  a  great  bonfire.  Every  soldier  of  the  garrison  fired 
hundreds  of  shots.  All  the  big  guns,  it  seems,  were  in  action.  From 
a  distance  it  appeared  impossible  to  remain  for  a  moment  under 
such  a  fire,  but  through  it  silently,  without  firing,  unwaveringly, 
advanced  the  storming  columns.  "When  near  the  fortifications  they 
rushed  forward  with  a  'hurrah.'  The  artillery  fire  ceases.  Our 
soldiers  jump  over  the  '  wolf-holes  '  down  into  the  ditch  and  begin 
to  scale  the  parapets.  The  storming  ladders,  twenty-one  feet  in 
length,  are  too  short,  but  the  brave  fellows  climb  and  clamber  all  the 
same,  clinging  to  each  other,  digging  their  bayonets  into  the  parapet, 
giving  each  other  a  lift,  and  ever  forward.  Now  they  are  on  the 
top;  the  gates  are  blown  open  with  dynamite;  Fort  Kanly  the 
Terrible  can  no  longer  resist.  Count  Grabbe  is  in  front  with  his 
volunteers,  and  falls  with  two  bullets  in  his  breast.  After  him 
comes  Colonel  Belinski,  at  the  head  of  the  regiment,  and  he,  too, 
falls  under  bullets  and  bayonets.  But  that  does  not  stop  the  for- 
ward movement.  The  garrison  wavers,  takes  to  flight,  and  our  troops 
enter.  Kanly  is  ours ;  and  those  of  the  defenders  who  shut  them- 
selves up  in  the  casemates  are  obliged  to  capitulate.  Soon  fall,  in 
like  manner,  Suvarri  and  Hafiz.  An  advance  is  then  made  on  the 
citadel.  At  all  points  the  Turks  offer  a  desperate  resistance. 
Toward  morning  the  Kutais  regiment  takes  the  Kara  Dagh  and  Arab 
Tabia,  and  soon  afterward  the  citadel  falls  into  our  hands." 

As  soon  as  the  Kara  Dagh  and  Arab  Tabia  were  taken,  the  Turks 
determined  to  abandon  the  town.  They  went  out,  about  eight  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  the  18th,  toward  Olti  and  Erzerum.  They  were 
fired  upon  by  the  artillery  of  Gen.  Hoop's  forces,  which  were  stationed 
in  this  direction,  and  were  intercepted  by  a  body  of  cavalry  sent  in 
pursuit  of  them,  and  surrendered.  The  number  of  prisoners  was 
12,000. 


THE  SECOND  CAMPAIGN  IN  ARMENIA.  355 

The  correctness  of  this  account  is  attested  by  the  concurrence  of 
witnesses,  and  by  all  the  known  circumstances,  but  it  still  remains  a 
remarkable  fact,  hard  to  be  explained,  how  twenty-four  Russian 
battalions  could  march  in  five  columns  on  a  perfectly  clear  moon- 
light, winter  night  over  the  level  space  of  two  and  one-half  miles, 
which  intervened  between  their  positions  and  the  forts,  without 
being  observed  by  a  single  Turkish  sentinel.  The  movement  was 
one  of  great  audacity  on  the  part  of  the  Russians,  and  its  success 
shows  extreme  negligence  on  the  part  of  the  Turks.  The  Turks 
charged  treachery  upon  one  of  their  Pashas,  but  he  could  hardly 
have  infected  all  the  sentinels  of  all  the  forts. 

A  grand  religious  service  was  held  in  the  Russian  camp  on  the  20th 
in  honor  of  the  victory,  and  the  Grand  Duke  conveyed  to  the  officers 
and  soldiers  the  thanks  of  the  Emperor  and  Commander-in-chief  for 
their  gallantry. 

The  whole  interest  of  the  war  in  Asia  after  the  capture  of  Kars 
centered  around  Erzerum,  where,  however,  the  depth  of  the  snow 
and  the  severity  of  the  weather  forbade  all  continuous  active  move- 
ments. While  the  Russians  were  strengthening  their  lines  of  invest- 
ment as  the  weather  permitted  them  to  adjust  their  positions,  the 
Turks  were  endeavoring  to  collect  forces  and  preparing  to  offer  as 
obstinate  a  defense  as  possible.  Feizi  Pasha  was  stationed  at  Bai- 
burt,  where  he  was  to  endeavor  to  organize  the  mountaineers  of 
Lazistan  into  regiments.  Kurd  Ismail  Pasha  was  dispatched  to 
Erzengan,  where  large  stores  of  provisions  had  been  concentrated 
from  the  market  towns  of  Asia  Minor,  and  announced  his  intention 
of  returning  shortly  at  the  head  of  40,000  men.  A  communication 
with  provision-trains  was  kept  up  with  this  place,  so  that  at  the  be- 
ginning of  December  a  sufficient  supply  was  said  to  exist  in  Erze- 
rum to  enable  the  place  to  stand  a  six  months'  siege.  Nevertheless, 
the  poorer  inhabitants  were  already  suffering  great  privations  on 
account  of  the  famine  price  of  food.  Mukhtar  Pasha  declared 
that  he  had  no  thought  of  surrendering,  but  that  his  sole  idea  was 
to  hold  out  as  long  as  possible,  giving  his  lieutenants  time  to  organ- 
ize a  fresh  army,  with  which  he  would  begin  operations  again  in  the 
spring.  Still,  he  was  forced  to  confess  that  not  only  were  his  pres- 
ent forces  numerically  weak,  but  their  moral  condition  was  bad,  and 
that  he  had  only  four  battalions  which  he  could  trust  in  action.  He 
had,  however,  entire  confidence  in  the  towns-people,  and  believed 
that  with  their  aid  he  would  be  able  to  repel  any  assaults  made  upon 


356  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

the  city.  Much  sickness  was  prevailing  both  at  Erzerum  and  at 
Kars.  The  hospitals  at  the  former  place  were  filled  with  soldiers, 
so  that  the  Governor  of  the  town  was  obliged  to  appropriate  eighty 
additional  houses  to  hospital  uses. 

On  the  llth  of  December,  the  British  Consul,  Mr.  Zohrab, 
received  orders  to  leave  Erzerum,  and  take  with  him  the  archives 
of  the  Consulate.  His  departure  was  felt  to  be  a  great  loss  by  the 
citizens  of  the  place,  for  he  had  made  himself  useful  and  beloved 
by  many  acts  of  kindness  and  humanity.  Among  other  acts,  he 
had  organized  a  committee,  composed  of  Mohammedans  and  Chris- 
tians, to  inquire  into  and  alleviate  all  cases  of  distress  among  the 
poor  of  the  city,  and  had  rendered  valuable  aid  to  all  sanitary  agents 
and  to  strangers  who  visited  the  place.  A  few  days  after  the  de- 
parture of  the  British  Consul,  a  movement  was  made  threatening 
the  city  from  the  north,  but  it  failed.  The  Russian  lines  were 
pushed  further  forward,  and  the  place  was  almost  invested  on 
the  25th. 

At  the  close  of  December,  Mukhtar  Pasha,  in  obedience  to  orders 
from  his  Government,  retired  from  Erzerum,  leaving  Ismail  Kurd 
Pasha  as  commander  of  the  troops  in  his  place.  The  reason  of 
the  removal  of  Mukhtar  was  not  given.  It  was  reported  on  the  one 
hand  that  he  was  recalled  to  account  for  the  disasters  which  the 
Turkish  forces  had  suffered  in  Armenia  under  his  command,  while 
other  reports  assumed  that  he  would  be  assigned  to  a  command  in 
Europe.  He  was,  actually,  after  his  arrival  in  Constantinople,  placed 
in  command  of  a  body  of  the  troops  which  were  stationed  in  the 
works  at  Tchataldja  for  the  defense  of  the  capital.  The  change  of 
commanders  was  not  to  the  advantage  of  the  Turkish  cause  at 
Erzerum.  Mukhtar  Pasha,  though  not  a  brilliant  general,  nor  one 
of  extraordinary  ability,  had  proved  himself  throughout  the  cam- 
paign a  faithful,  competent  officer ;  had  gained  the  confidence  of 
his  followers  and  the  respect  of  his  enemies.  He  had  been  in  turns 
a  victor  and  a  sufferer  by  defeat,  without  stain  upon  his  honor ;  and 
he  was  believed  to  be  clear  of  complicity  with  the  atrocities  com- 
mitted by  the  Kurds,  which,  like  those  of  the  Bashi-Bazouks  in 
Europe,  disgraced  the  Turkish  cause  in  Asia.  His  successor  was  a 
bigoted  Mussulman,  a  man  who  was  accustomed  to  spend  his  time 
in  prayers,  while  he  left  the  duties  of  planning  and  acting  to  his 
lieutenants,  who  had  entered  the  campaign  without  reputation  for 
generalship,  and  had  acquired  none  in  its  course.  The  Russians 


THE    LAST    SHOT    IN    THE    DEFENCE    OF    KARS. 


THE  SECOND  CAMPAIGN  IN  ARMENIA.  359 

had  so  well  invested  the  city  at  the  time  of  Mukhtar's  recall  that  it 
was  reported  that  he  had  to  escape  from  the  city  in  disguise  as  one 
of  the  suite  of  a  European  Consul  there ;  that  he  was  stopped  by 
the  Cossacks,  and  was  only  let  go  on  the  Consul  producing  his 
credentials. 

Ilidja  was  occupied  by  the  Russians  during  the  first  week  in  Jan- 
uary, and  the  investment  of  Erzerum  was  complete.  The  Russians 
had,  by  the  middle  of  the  month,  concentrated  about  20,000  men  on 
the  plains,  and  occupied  a  space  of  forty-two  miles,  stretching  from 
Hinsk,  on  the  north,  as  far  as  Pirnakabar,  on  the  west.  On  the 
12th  of  January,  a  Turkish  officer,  bearing  a  white  flag,  passed 
through  the  Russian  lines,  entered  Erzerum,  and  delivered  to  Ismail 
Pasha  a  telegram  from  Constantinople,  announcing  the  opening  of 
negotiations  for  a  suspension  of  hostilities.  The  Russians,  neverthe- 
less, continued  to  concentrate  their  troops.  The  close  investment  of 
the  city  was  continued  without  material  changes,  or  the  happening 
of  any  striking  event,  until  the  signing  of  the  preliminaries  of 
peace. 

A  Russian  commission  had  been  at  work  in  anticipation  of  secur- 
ing a  permanent  acquisition  of  territory  in  Asia,  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  war,  for  the  organization  of  the  conquered  parts  of  Armenia, 
and  finished  its  labors  early  in  February.  The  male  population  of 
the  territory,  including  the  not  yet  conquered  districts  of  Erzerum, 
Yan,  and  Batum,  was  found  to  amount  to  610,744,  including 
180,188  Armenians,  207,049  Kurds,  189,250  Turks,  25,098  Kistl- 
bashas,  and  2,000  Tartars.  The  commission  provided  for  the  divis- 
ion of  Armenia  into  two  governments,  and  the  six  districts  of 
Tchaldir,  Bayazid,  Yan,  Mush,  Erivan,  and  Ears,  from  the  whole 
of  which  it  was  anticipated  the  Government  would  receive  a  net 
revenue  of  3,000,000  rubles. 


CHAPTER  Yin. 

THE   OPERATIONS   BEFORE   BATUM   AND  IN  THE   CAUCASUS. 

Batum — Its  Importance  as  a  Port — The  Russians  Undertake  its  Investment — The  Turk- 
ish Expedition  to  Sukhum  Kaleh,  and  their  Effort  to  Excite  an  Insurrection  of  the 
Caucasian  Tribes — Insignificant  Results  of  the  Movement. 

WHILE  the  Russians  were  pushing  their  main  campaign  in  Ar- 
menia, important  subsidiary  movements  were  prosecuted  by  both 
sides  on  the  coast  of  the  Black  Sea  and  in  the  Caucasus.  The  Rus- 
sians were  attempting  offensive  operations  against  Batum,  the  most 
important  port  held  by  the  Turks  in  this  region,  and  the  only  really 
good  port  on  the  coast,  and  the  Turks  were  directing  expeditions  to 
points  on  the  Caucasian  shores  further  north,  to  stir  up  and  assist 
insurrections  among  the  Mohammedan  tribes,  with  a  view  to  the  de- 
struction of  the  Russian  line  of  communication  over  the  Caucasus 
Mountains. 

The  shores  of  the  Black  Sea,  between  the  Turkish  fortified  ports 
of  Batum  and  Trebizond,  a  distance  of  about  one  hundred  and 
twelve  miles,  are  destitute  of  roads,  rocky,  and  impassable.  The 
ground  rises  in  a  distance  of  a  little  more  than  twenty  miles  from  the 
coast  into  the  Barchel  Mountains.  As  the  Turks  were  masters  of 
the  sea,  they  might  have  inflicted  great  damage  upon  the  Russians 
by  harassing  their  right  wing  and  cutting  its  communications,  if  they 
had  had  good  points  from  which  to  send  detachments  of  troops 
against  them.  The  only  point,  however,  offering  a  practicable 
basis  for  such  operations  was  Batum,  which  presented  a  combination 
of  advantages  for  military  movements  against  the  line  of  Russian 
invasion.  It  has  an  excellent  and  convenient  harbor,  is  connected 
by  good  roads  with  Tiflis  and  Akhaltzikh,  the  base  of  the  Russian 
right  wing,  and  communicates  directly  with  the  country  to  the  south, 
by  the  river  Tchoruk,  which  is  navigable  to  Artvin,  and  by  a  road 
running  up  the  valley  of  the  river.  The  Turks  actually  made 
much  use  of  Batum  as  a  station  for  their  troops  and  a  rendezvous 

for  their  fleets,  whence  expeditions  were  fitted  and  sent  against  the 
(360) 


THE  OPERA  TIONS  BEFORE  BA  TUM.  361 

Caucasian  coasts,  and  they  kept  there  a  force  of  between  eighteen 
and  twenty-four  thousand  men.  It  was  important  to  the  Russians 
that  they  should  either  capture  this  port,  or  keep  its  garrison  so 
engaged  that  it  would  not  be  able  to  operate  against  General  Meli- 
koff's  right  wing. 

The  duty  of  taking  care  of  Batum  was  assigned  to  the  Bion  corps, 
Gen.  Oklobjio  commanding.  On  the  1 1th  of  May,  this  officer,  hav- 
ing established  himself  in  the  position  of  Mucha  Estate,  made  an  attack 
upon  the  heights  of  Tchatzubani,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river  Kin- 
trisi,  a  river  which  empties  into  the  sea  just  south  of  the  boundary 
line.  A  severe  fight  ensued,  in  which  the  Russians  failed  to  carry 
the  point  they  aimed  at,  although  they  claimed  to  have  maintained 
the  positions  they  had  assumed,  with  a  loss  of  128  killed  and 
wounded.  The  Turks  represented  the  affair  as  a  great  victory  for 
them,  and  rated  the  Russian  loss  at  4,000.  An  attack  was  next 
attempted  upon  Batum  from  the  sea.  The  Russian  steamer  "  Con- 
stantine  "  left  Sebastopol  on  the  12th  of  May  with  four  torpedo 
boats,  which  were  sent  forward  into  the  harbor  to  be  attached  to  the 
Turkish  ships  and  destroy  them.  The  movements  of  the  torpedo 
boats  were  observed  from  the  shore,  the  alarm  was  given,  and  the 
boats  had  to  be  withdrawn  without  accomplishing  their  object.  The 
fighting  on  the  land  side  was  renewed  on  the  23d,  and  again  on  the 
28th,  when  the  Turks  were  driven  from  the  heights  of  Sameba,  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Kintrisi.  An  expedition  was  dispatched  up 
the  river  and  secured  the  submission  of  the  inhabitants,  the  roads 
were  repaired,  and  Russian  batteries  were  established  at  Sameba. 
The  situation  was  not  materially  changed  for  several  weeks,  al- 
though new  movements  were  attempted  and  skirmishes  took  place 
nearly  every  day  till  the  latter  part  of  June,  when  a  new  com- 
mander, Dervish  Pasha,  was  appointed  for  the  Turkish  forces, 
and  greater  energy  was  infused  into  their  movements.  On  the 
23d  of  June,  the  new  commander  reported  that  he  had  compelled 
the  Russians  to  withdraw  their  batteries,  and  retreat,  with  a  loss  of 
1,500  killed  and  wounded.  The  heights  of  Sameba  and  Khatzuba- 
ni  were  recaptured  by  the  Turks,  and  the  Grand  Duke  Michael 
announced  about  the  1st  of  July  that  General  Oklobjio  had  found  it 
advisable  "  to  concentrate  his  forces  in  a  more  advantageous  posi- 
tion." Gen.  Oklobjio  withdrew  his  headquarters  to  Mucha  Estate, 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  frontier.  The  engagements  which  ended  in 
this  result  were  fought  with  great  gallantry  on  both  sides,  the  Rus- 
19 


362  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

sians  defending  the  positions  which  they  successively  lost,  with 
brave  persistency,  and  losing  many  high  officers  in  the  conflicts, 
while  the  Turks  suffered  such  losses  that  they  were  not  able  to  fol- 
low up  their  victory  with  that  degree  of  energy  which  they  had 
hoped  to  exhibit. 

During  the  interval  between  the  two  campaigns  in  Armenia,  the 
forces  of  Gen.  Oklobjio  were  stationed  in  the  small  district  lying 
between  the  boundary  of  Turkey  and  Russia  and  Orzugeti,  near 
Poti  and  Fort  St.  Nicholas.  No  new  operations  were  undertaken 
in  this  field  for  several  months.  Ardanutch,  which  had  already 
been  taken  and  abandoned  by  the  Russians,  was  again  taken  by  a 
detachment  under  Gen.  Komaroff,  who  was  co-operating  with  Gen. 
Oklobjio,  on  the  17th  of  November.  The  bombardment  of  Batum 
was  resumed  early  in  November.  On  the  night  of  the  27th  of  the 
same  month,  Dervish  Pasha,  the  Turkish  commander,  suddenly 
abandoned  his  position  at  Khatzubani,  leaving  in  it  merely  an  insig- 
nificant force,  and  the  post  was  occupied  on  the  following  day  by 
the  Russians,  who,  after  driving  out  the  small  remaining  garrison, 
found  themselves  in  possession  of  the  Ottoman  camp  with  huts  for 
10,000  men,  and  some  stores  of  provision  and  ammunition.  In  the 
latter  part  of  December,  the  Russians  were  continuing  an  intermit- 
tent fire  upon  the  Turkish  lines  without  effect.  The  situation  con- 
tinued without  material  change  till  the  end  of  January.  Gen. 
Oklobjio  did  not  make  any  progress  against  the  intrenchments  of 
Dervish  Pasha.  The  co-operating  column  of  Gen.  Komaroff  at 
Ardanutch,  on  the  13th  and  22d,  defeated  a  division  of  the  enemy 
which  stood  between  him  and  Batum  at  Artvin.  The  Russian 
steamer  "  Constantine"  approached  the  Turkish  fleet  at  Batum  on  the 
26th  and  sent  out  a  torpedo-boat,  which  succeeded  in  blowing  up 
one  of  the  vessels.  The  remaining  vessels  of  the  fleet  then  took  on 
board  a  part  of  the  garrison  of  the  fortress,  with  Dervish  Pasha,  to 
transport  them  to  Constantinople.  Learning  this,  Gen.  Oklobjio 
undertook  to  storm  the  Turkish  positions  on  the  30th,  but  was 
driven  back  after  he  had  crossed  the  Kintrisi.  River,  with  consider- 
able loss. 

The  Turks,  in  forming  their  plans  at  the  beginning  of  the  cam- 
paign, had  placed  considerable  dependence  on  the  expectation  that 
an  insurrection  would  be  excited  among  the  Mohammedan  tribes  of 
the  Caucasus.  Taking  it  for  granted  that  the  sympathies  of  these 
people  would  be  with  them  as  Moslems,  and  that  they  were  discon- 


THE  OPERA  TIONS  BEFORE  BA  TUM.  363 

tented  under  Kussian  rule,  they  hoped  to  promote  an  insurrection, 
and  make  it  so  formidable  that  the  attention  of  the  Russians  and  a 
considerable  part  of  their  armies  would  be  diverted  from  the  active 
prosecution  of  the  invasion.  Besides,  as  the  only  lines  of  commu- 
nication between  the  Kussian  army  of  the  Caucasus  and  the  Euro- 
pean bases  of  supply  traversed  the  Caucasian  country,  and  were 
beset  with  difficult  mountain  passes  and  narrow  defiles,  they  antici- 
pated that  if  a  general  insurrection  could  be  excited  they  would  be 
able  so  to  embarrass  the  Russians  as,  possibly,  entirely  to  defeat 
their  movements  and  break  up  their  campaign.  A  revolt  in  the 
Terek  district  would  seriously  impede  the  operations  of  the  railroad 
from  Tiflis  to  Rostov,  and  would,  in  case  the  insurgents  should  be 
able  to  control  the  Pass  of  Yladikavkas,  entirely  blockade  it.  A 
general  movement  of  the  tribes  along  the  Black  Sea,  aided  by  the 
naval  superiority  of  the  Turks  in  its  waters,  would  make  the  coast 
road — the  only  other  means  of  communication  available  to  the  Rus- 
sians— impracticable.  This  road,  running  along  the  narrow  levels 
between  the  spurs  of  the  mountains  and  the  sea-shore,  and  inter- 
sected by  numerous  difficult  rivers  and  mountain  streams,  is  exposed 
through  much  of  its  length  to  the  direct  fire  of  men-of-war,  as  well 
as  to  attacks  from  hostile  bodies  posted  on  the  hills  or  valleys  above. 
The  country  is  one  in  which  an  insurrection  would  be  extremely 
difficult,  even  impracticable,  to  deal  with,  being  thickly  wooded, 
and  the  only  roads  being  bridle-paths,  which  do  not  exist  on  any 
map,  but  are  perfectly  well  known  to  the  natives.  It  was  in  this 
region  that  the  Turks  made,  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  war,  and 
continued  for  many  months,  a  deliberate  and  energetic  effort  to 
kindle  an  insurrection  of  the  whole  people.  Signs  of  revolt  also 
appeared  in  other  parts  of  the  Caucasus,  and  a  rising  took  place 
among  the  Tchetchentzes,  immediately  after  the  declaration  of  war, 
in  consequence  of  which  a  state  of  siege  had  been  proclaimed  in  the 
Terek  province. 

Admiral  Hassan  Pasha  sailed  from  Batum,  near  the  end  of  April, 
with  a  squadron  of  five  vessels.  Proceeding  along  the  coast  the  fleet 
cannonaded  some  of  the  Russian  forts  near  the  mouth  of  the  Rion 
River,  and  on  the  12th  of  May  reached  Fort  Godauty,  and  landed 
there  about  one  thousand  Circassians,  who  were  joined  by  a  portion 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  district.  On  the  14th  the  squadron 
reached  Sukhum-Kaleh,  a  town  of  about  sixteen  hundred  inhabitants, 
on  the  north-eastern  coast  of  the  Black  Sea,  the  only  port,  though  a 


364  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

poor  one,  of  the  Caucasus  north  of  Poti,  and  in  the  midst  of  the 
Abkhasian  country.  The  first  bombardment  of  the  fortifications 
was  followed  by  an  attempt  to  land,  which  was  defeated  with  con- 
siderable loss  to  the  assailants.  The  bombardment  was  continued 
till  the  town  and  fort  were  nearly  destroyed,  when  the  position  was 
stormed  and  captured,  the  Russians  retreating.  The  Russians  at- 
tempted to  retake  the  place  on  the  18th,  but  were  repulsed.  The 
spirit  of  revolt  spread  quite  rapidly  among  the  Abkhasians  for  a 
short  time  after  the  Turkish  movement  was  begun.  One  of  the 
sons  of  Shamyl,  Ghazi  Mehrned  Pasha,  went  with  the  Turks  to  join 
the  rising  tribes,  under  the  expectation  that  his  name  would  arouse 
a  great  excitement  among  them.  His  influence  was  thwarted,  how- 
ever, by  the  adherence  of  his  brother  to  the  Russians,  as  an  officer 
in  their  army,  who  also  was  sent  to  the  Caucasus  to  encourage  the 
loyalty  of  the  tribes.  The  Turks  prosecuted  their  movements  with 
such  energy,  that  by  the  first  of  June  they  had  the  control  of  the 
shore  of  the  whole  Abkhasian  coast.  A  council  of  war  held  at  Con- 
stantinople resolved  to  treat  the  movements  in  this  region  as  of 
paramount  importance,  and  decided  to  send  reinforcements  to  assist 
them,  and  a  large  quantity  of  rifles  to  distribute  among  the  tribes. 
Fazli  Pasha  was  sent  out  with  a  force  of  ten  thousand  men.  The 
Russian  counter  movements  were  prompt ;  the  revolt  in  the  Terek 
district  was  quickly  put  down ;  measures  were  immediately  taken 
to  prevent  the  Abkhasian  revolt  from  extending  into  the  interior 
from  the  sea-coast.  The  district  was  put  under  the  command  of 
General  Alkhasoff,  and  troops  were  thrown  into  it  from  the  region 
of  the  Kuban  and  the  east,  and  the  insurrectionary  movement  was 
confined  to  an  unimportant  stretch  of  the  coast,  extending,  according 
to  the  admissions  of  the  Turks,  not  more  than  forty  miles  into  the 
interior.  The  Turks  continued  their  attacks  at  various  points  along 
the  sea-coast,  where  the  Russians  did  not  consider  it  worth  while, 
since  it  was  useless,  in  view  of  the  advantages  which  the  enemy  en- 
joyed from  their  naval  superiority,  to  offer  them  any  serious  opposi- 
tion. The  control  of  the  interior  was  still  entirely  with  the  Rus- 
sians, who  had  also  set  limits  to  the  revolt  both  in  the  north  and 
the  south.  At  the  beginning  of  July  they  claimed  that  the  insur- 
rection was  virtually  suppressed,  while  the  Turks  still  held  the 
positions  which  they  had  captured,  and  the  whole  Caucasian  popula- 
tion were  still  very  uneasy.  The  Russian  statements,  however, 
received  a  striking  confirmation  less  than  a  month  later,  when  the 


THE  OPERA  TIONS  BEFORE  BA  TUM.  365 

Turkish  Government  resolved  to  abandon  the  Caucasian  expedition, 
to  evacuate  the  captured  positions  on  the  Abkhasian  coast,  and  to  re- 
move to  Turkish  territory  all  of  the  population  who  had  com- 
promised themselves  with  their  Government  by  taking  part  in  the 
insurrection.  Admiral  Hobart  Pasha,  the  commander  of  the  Turk- 
ish fleet  in  the  Black  Sea,  was  commissioned  to  superintend  the 
transportation  of  the  refugees.  The  Abkhasians  eagerly  availed 
themselves  of  the  offer  of  the  Turks  to  remove  them,  and  came  in 
throngs  from  all  directions  to  the  points  of  embarkation,  and  the 
vessels  were  employed  for  several  days  in  conveying  them  and  their 
cattle  to  Trebizond.  The  number  who  sought  to  emigrate  was  given 
at  fifty  thousand,  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  head  of  cattle. 
By  the  end  of  August  all  who  presented  themselves  for  removal 
had  been  taken  away,  only  four  hundred  having,  according  to  the 
Turkish  accounts,  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Russians.  Suk- 
hurn-Kaleh  was  finally  abandoned  by  the  Turks  on  the  first  of 
September,  after  an  unprofitable  occupancy  by  them  of  about  four 
months,  and  was  entered  by  the  Russians  under  General  Alkhasoff 
on  the  same  day.  A  general  proclamation  was  issued  by  the  Rus- 
sians summoning  the  insurgent  Abkhasians  to  submit  and  lay  down 
their  arms,  under  severe  penalties  in  the  event  of  their  refusal.  A 
number  of  those  who  had  participated  in  the  insurrection  were 
exiled  to  Siberia. 

Notwithstanding  the  manifest  failure  of  the  attempts  of  the  Turks 
to  excite  a  general  insurrection,  the  whole  region  of  the  Caucasus 
was  in  a  disturbed  condition  during  the  whole  period  of  the  summer 
campaign.  An  insurrection  broke  out  in  Daghestan,  in  the  eastern 
side  of  the  province,  in  June,  where  a  raid  was  made  by  Turkish 
irregulars,  and  they  succeeded  in  destroying  parts  of  the  Tim's  Rail- 
way, and  the  insurgents  received  the  assistance  of  a  number  of 
young  Circassian  officers,  who  had  been  trained  in  the  Russian  mili- 
tary schools.  A  second  insurrection  broke  out  in  the  Terek  district 
in  July,  in  consequence  of  which  it  was  considered  necessary  to 
hold  a  force  in  reserve  to  support  the  troops  regularly  stationed! 
there. 

Another  revolt  broke  out  in  the  central  districts  of  Daghestan  im 
September,  and  gradually  extended.  Bodies  of  the  insurgents,, 
represented  to  number  about  4,000,  were  met  by  the  Russians  on 
the  30th  of  September  and  the  3d  of  October,  and  were  defeated.. 
The  revolt  was  completely  suppressed  by  the  middle  of  December. 


366  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Those  outbreaks  caused  the  Russians  some  trouble  in  the  earlier 
campaign,  and  required  the  detachment  of  Considerable  bodies  of 
troops  to  meet  them.  After  the  failure  of  the  first  Armenian  cam- 
paign, engineers  were  dispatched  to  explore  the  routes  by  the  Cas- 
pian  Sea,  with  a  view  to  the  construction  of  new  roads  for  the 
transportation  of  supplies  that  should  avoid  the  passes  of  the 
Caucasus.  A  few  weeks  later,  the  slowness  of  the  Russians  to  move 
in  opening  their  second  campaign,  was  excused  by  the  statement 
that  their  forces  had  been  weakened  by  the  necessity  of  detailing 
detachments  to  assist  the  troops  in  the  Caucasus.  Very  little  was 
heard  of  the  insurrections  after  the  second  campaign  was  fairly 
opened. 


"\ 


CHAPTEK  IX. 

ON   TO   CONSTANTINOPLE. 

The  Close  of  the  Campaign  on  the  Lorn— Servia  enters  upon  the  Scene  of  War — Capture 
of  Ak  Palanka  and  Pirot  by  the  Servians — Gourko  Crosses  the  Etropol  Balkan — 
Battles  of  Taskesen  and  Kamarli— Capture  of  Sophia,  the  Trojan  Pass,  the  Shipka 
Pass,  and  Philippopolis — Suleiman  Pasha  Defeated  and  Forced  into  the  Rhodope 
Mountains — Capture  of  Adrianople — Suleiman's  March  to  the  Sea — The  Russians 
Occupy  Tcholuk  and  Tchataldja,  and  Push  their  Lines  along  the  North  Shore  of 
the  Sea  of  Marmora — Final  Operations  of  the  Servians — Surrender  of  Widin — The 
Czarevitch  Occupies  Rasgrad,  Osman  Bazar,  and  Rustchuk — Gen.  Zimmermann 
Assumes  the  Offensive — Capture  of  Bazardjik. 

SULEIMAN  PASHA  undertook,  on  December  12th,  another  attack  on 
the  extreme  left  of  the  Czarevitch's  army  stationed  at  Metchka  and 
Tirstenik.  The  Twelfth  army  corps,  under  the  Grand  Duke  Yladi- 
mir,  was  stationed  here.  Suleiman  attacked  these  positions  five 
times,  and  was  proceeding  to  the  sixth  attack  when  the  Russians 
received  reinforcements  from  the  Thirteenth  corps  and  forced  him 
to  retreat.  His  losses  during  this  retreat  were  considerable,  amount- 
ing, according  to  the  best  estimates,  to  at  least  2,000  men.  Two 
da}rs  later,  on  the  14th,  he  withdrew  his  troops  from  Elena,  and  on 
the  15th  the  extreme  right  of  the  Czarevitch's  army  had  again  occu- 
pied this  place  and  Slataritza.  This  put  an  end  to  all  operations  on 
the  Lorn  on  the  part  of  the  Turks. 

The  fall  of  Plevna  was  the  occasion  of  the  re-entrance  of  Servia 
into  the  war.  This  principality,  which  had  received  such  easy 
terms  from  Turkey,  when  it  concluded  the  treaty  of  peace  in  Feb- 
ruary, had  been  the  ssene  of  considerable  political  excitement 
throughout  the  year.  A  strong  party  had  clamored  loudly  for 
renewing  the  war,  and  on  several  occasions  it  had  seemed  as  if  Servia 
would  again  take  the  field.  When  the  Russians  entered  Rumania, 
Prince  Milan  paid  a  visit  to  the  Czar  at  Ployeshti,  where  he  met 
with  a  very  friendly  reception,  although  it  was  reported  at  the  time 
that  he  was  advised  by  the  Russians  not  to  resume  hostilities  against 
Turkey.  Now,  when  Plevna  had  fallen,  and  the  Turkish  power 
seemed  to  have  been  effectually  broken,  Prince  Milan  embraced  the 

(369) 


370  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

opportunity  again  to  declare  war.  In  his  declaration,  issued  on 
December  12th,  after  denouncing  Turkish  cruelty  and  barbarity,  he 
continued : 

"Although  Servia  behaves  toward  Turkey  most  honorably,  the 
Porte  begins  preparing  new  perils  for  our  country,  besides  con- 
cocting secret  conspiracies  against  our  internal  security.  The 
Ottoman  Foreign  Minister  threatens  us  openly  with  innumerable 
kinds  of  injury,  without  being  formally  at  war  with  Servia.  Servi- 
ans !  When  the  Porte  assumes  against  us  such  a  threatening  tone, 
at  a  moment  when  it  is  pressed  by  an  army  of  the  strongest  power, 
it  is  evident  that  we  can  not  permit  the  occasion  to  pass  by  without 
trying  once  more  to  secure  our  future.  The  struggle  with  our  foe 
of  many  centuries  was  not  finished  with  last  year's  war ;  it  would 
be  inglorious,  unprofitable  for  us  doing  peaceable  work,  not  to  try 
within  the  boundaries  of  our  strength  to  remove  threatening  dangers 

for  the  Servian  nation  and  not  to  fulfill  our  national  task 

Great  works,  like  the  one  undertaken  by  us  last  year,  can  not  remain 

half  accomplished If  last  year  the  enemy  had  superior  forces 

to  bring  against  the  Servian  principality,  to-day  entering  the  field 
we  find  on  our  side  the  victorious  Russian  army,  our  heroic  Mon- 
tenegrin brethren,  our  brave  Rumanian  neighbors.  We  take  up 

arms  to-day  for  the  holy  national  Christian  cause Let  us 

now  fulfill  the  great  national  task  which  the  old  heroes  of  Takova 
so  gloriously  began,  and  which  we  renewed  last  year.  Let  us  move 
forward  alongside  of  the  victorious  banner  of  the  Czar,  the  Libera- 
tor, with  Christian  faith  in  God  Almighty,  the  Protector  of  right, 
and  success  is  sure,  in  the  name  of  the  liberator  of  our  oppressed 
brethren,  our  country's  welfare,  Servia's  independence,  and  its 
heroic  people.  It  is  God's  will." 

The  Servians  had  at  this  time  four  armies  ready  to  take  the 
field — those  on  the  Drina,  on  the  Javor,  on  the  Morava,  and  on  the 
Timok  Rivers.  While  the  army  of  the  Drina  was  intended  for 
defensive  purposes  only,  the  armies  of  the  Morava,  and  of  the 
Timok,  occupied  Mramor,  Ak  Palanka,  and  Pirot,  invested  Nissa, 
and  proceeded  toward  Sophia.  Nissa  su  rendered  on  January  1 0, 
1878,  when  the  Servians  took  8,000  prisoners,  90  cannon,  and 
12,000  guns. 

We  left  Gen.  Gourko  in  the  latter  part  of  November  on  the 
heights  of  the  Baba  Konak  Pass.  The  Turkish  army  occupied  at 
this  time  a  position  at  the  south  end  of  this  pass  at  Arab  Konak  and 


ON  TO  CONSTANTINOPLE.  371 

Kamarli,  and  here  repulsed  several  artillery  and  infantry  attacks 
made  by  Gen.  Gourko  during  the  early  part  of  December.  The 
surrender  of  Plevna  enabled  the  Russians  to  send  considerable  re- 
inforcements to  Gourko. 

On  December  28th  he  crossed  the  Etropol  Balkan,  a  feat  which 
was  attended  with  great  suffering  and  loss  of  life  to  the  Russians, 
and  then  advanced  upon  Sophia.  Several  changes  had  taken  place  at 
this  point  during  December.  Mehemet  Ali  had  been  removed  from 
the  command,  and  Shakir  Pasha  appointed  in  his  place,  and  the 
latter  officer  was  also  removed  within  a  week  to  make  place  for 
Nedjib  Pasha.  On  December  30th  and  31st,  Gourko  defeated  the 
Turks  in  two  severe  battles  at  Taskesen  and  Kamarli.  The  Turks  were 
completely  routed  and  scattered,  a  small  body  forcing  its  way  to 
Slatitza,  while  the  greater  part  of  the  remainder  were  taken  prison- 
ers. This  victory  opened  the  way  for  the  Russians  to  Sophia,  which 
they  occupied  on  January  3d  without  meeting  with  any  resistance. 
Further  east,  Gen.  Dandeville,  commanding  the  3d  cavalry  division 
of  the  Guards,  had  occupied  Slatitza  on  January  2d,  and  advanced 
as  far  as  Kosnitza,  where  the  Prohod  Pass  leads  into  the  valley  of 
the  Derbent  River.  This  pass,  however,  could  not  be  taken  as  long 
as  the  Trojan  Pass,  leading  from  Trojan  into  this  valley,  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  Turks.  The  Trojan  Pass  was  finally  taken  on  January 
7th,  by  General  KarzofF,  under  the  greatest  difficulties,  a  large  number 
of  his  men  perishing  from  the  cold.  On  the  8th,  Gen.  Radetzky,  com- 
manding in  the  Shipka  Pass,  attacked  the  Turkish  positions  in  that 
pass  so  suddenly  that  he  captured  the  entire  Turkish  army  under 
Ressel  Pasha.  In  his  telegram  to  the  Czar,  who  had  returned  to 
St.  Petersburg  after  the  fall  of  Plevna,  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas 
said : 

"I  am  happy  to  congratulate  your  Majesty  upon  a  brilliant 
victory  gained  this  day.  Gen.  Radetzky  has,  after  desperate  fight- 
ing, captured  the  whole  Turkish  army  defending  the  Shipka  Pass, 
consisting  of  41  battalions,  10  batteries,  and  one  regiment  of  cavalry. 
Prince  Mirsky  has  occupied  Kasanlik.  Gen.  Skobeleff  holds 
Shipka." 

This  estimate  of  the  Turkish  army  was  in  all  probability  exag- 
gerated. The  latest  estimates  received  of  the  strength  of  the 
Moslem  forces  defending  the  southern  end  of  the  Shipka  Pass  placed 
the  number  at  10,000.  This  victory  gave  the  entire  line  of  the 
Balkans,  from  Servia  to  the  line  of  Osmau  Bazar  to  Selvi,  into  the 


3/2 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


hands  of  the  Russians,  and  enabled  them  to  move  their  reinforce- 
ments direct  from  Sistova  to  Tirnova,  and  thence  across  the  Balkans 
to  Rumelia.  In  Rumelia,  Suleiman,  who  had  moved  the  greater 
part  of  his  troops  from  the  Lorn  across  the  Balkans  after  the  sur- 
render of  Plevna,  had  gathered  a  considerable  army  at  Adrianople. 
In  the  first  days  of  January,  Suleiman  was  put  in  command  of  the 
forces  at  Philippopolis,  and  Mehemet  Ali  was  for  a  second  time 
during  the  war  appointed  to  the  supreme  command. 

Gen.  Gourko,  after  having  taken  Sophia,  left  the  place  in  the  hands 
of  a  garrison,  and  pushed  on  with  the  greater  part  of  his  army 
toward  Philippopolis.  He  met  with  but  very  little  resistance  until  he 
had  passed  Tartar  Bazardjik,  when  a  little  beyond  this  city  he  en- 
countered, on  January  14th,  the  first  serious  opposition.  The  fight- 
ing was  continued  during  the  following  days,  the  contending  forces 
continually  approaching  Philippopolis,  and  on  the  16th,  Gourko 
entered  this  town.  On  the  same  day  he  was  joined  here  by  SkobelefF s 
cavalry,  which  had  been  sent  him  by  Gen.  Radetzky.  On  the  16th, 
Gen.  Strukoff,  who  had  been  sent  out  by  General  Radetzky,  occupied 
Hermann',  and  then  continued  to  advance  upon  Adrianople,  where 
he  expected  to  join  Gourko's  army.  During  this  time,  the  left  wing 
of  the  Russian  army  was  advancing  on  Adrianople,  having  occupied, 
also  on  the  16th,  Slivno,  Kasan,  and  Yamboli.  One  regiment  of  this 
column  had  left  the  main  column  at  Slivno,  and  marched  upon. 
Karnabad  on  the  Black  Sea. 

After  Gen.  Gourko  had  entered  Philippopolis,  he  sent  his  right 
wing,  under  Count  Shuvaloff,  against  Dermendere,  where  Fuad 
Pasha  had  occupied  -a  strong  position;  his  left  wing,  under  Gen. 
Dandeville,  was  to  cross  the  Maritza  at  Teni  Mahal  a,  advance 
against  Stanimaki,  and  threaten  the  Turkish  line  of  retreat;  his 
extreme  left  was  to  advance  on  the  road  to  Adrianople  with  the 
three-fold  object  of  pursuing  the  Turks,  who  had  retreated  in  this 
direction,  of  blocking  the  direct  road  to  Constantinople,  and  of 
effecting  a  junction  with  Radetzky's  troops  advancing  on  Adriano- 
ple. In  a  series  of  fierce  engagements,  extending  to  the  18th, 
Suleiman's  army  was  forced  into  the  Rhodope  Mountains,  while  a 
smaller  part  effected  its  retreat  to  Adrianople.  This  city  was 
evacuated  on  the  19th,  and  on  the  following  day  Gen.  Strukoff, 
commanding  the  advance  guard  of  Radetzky's  army,  took  possession 
of  it.  Adrianople,  which,  up  to  the  capture  of  Constantinople  in 
1453,  was  the  capital  of  the  Turks,  and  which  even  in  the  17th 


ON  TO  CONSTANTINOPLE.  373 

century  was  the  residence  of  the  Sultans  Mohammed  IY.  and 
Solyman  II.}  is  to-day  nothing  hut  an  immense  collection  of  wooden 
huts.  The  streets  are  filthy  and  narrow,  and  it  is  only  with  great 
difficulty  that  one  can  ascend  to  the  higher  quarters  of  the  city.  But 
few  of  the  great  buildings  of  former  times  have  been  preserved. 
Among  these  few  there  are  besides,  several  caravanserles,  which, 
however,  have  been  diverted  from  their  original  purpose,  and  now 
serve  as  warehouses,  three  large  mosques,  which  are  situated  in 
close  proximity  to  each  other  in  the  middle  of  the  city.  The  oldest 
of  these,  established  by  Murad  I.,  is  not  accessible  to  the  unfaithful, 
as  it  is  the  receptacle  of  the  Kaaba  relics  brought  home  by 
pilgrims  to  Mecca.  Near  to  the  "  Muradyeh,"  is  the  "  mosque  of 
the  three  minarets,"  so-called  because  each  of  these  minarets  differ 
in  shape,  height,  and  style  from  the  other.  The  third  mosque,  that 
of  Seliin  II.,  is  a  magnificent  building.  It  is  the  masterpiece  of  the 
great  Ottoman  builder,  Sinan,  who  made  it  the  finest  house  of 
worship  in  Turkey.  ' 

Suleiman,  after  a  most  disastrous  retreat  through  the  Rhodope 
Mountains,  and  after  lying  encamped  for  over  a  week  on  the  sea- 
shore, was  embarked  with  his  entire  army  at  Kavala  for  Constan- 
tinople. The  correspondent  of  the  London  Times  gives  the  follow- 
ing description  of  the  condition  of  the  army :  "  The  army  was  found 
in  a  miserable  plight ;  no  tents,  nor  the  slightest  shelter  for  the  men 
even  at  night.  The  poor  fellows  were  stretched  along  the  beach, 
seeking  as  best  they  could  to  keep  themselves  alive  upon  the  scanty 
ration  of  a  biscuit  a  day.  Suleiman's  headquarters  were  established 
in  a  ruined  fort,  a  considerable  distance  from  the  shore,  and  here  he 
was  found  by  the  Commodore,  intent,  it  would  seem,  only  upon  his 
own  escape,  without  one  thought  of  the  devoted  army  which  had 
been  reduced  to  such  miserable  straits  through  his  incapacity  and 
obstinacy,  to  call  it  by  no  worse  a  name.  If  ever  a  man  was  hated 
and  detested,  Suleiman  Pasha  is  by  all  those  who  have  lately  served 
under  his  command.  He  is  roundly  accused  of  being  the  cause  of 
all  their  disasters ;  not  a  single  voice  in  the  army  is  heard  in  his 
favor,  and  charges  of  cruelty,  neglect,  and  a  criminal  waste  of  op- 
portunities are  laid  to  his  door,  which,  if  substantiated  in  the  case 
of  a  General  in  another  country,  would  lead  to  his  death  by  order 

of  court-martial Th3  true  story  of  this  disastrous  retreat 

will,  perhaps,  never  be  known ;  a  few  of  the  details  which  I  have 
gathered  here  suffice  to  brand  Suleiman  as  a  traitorous  and  cruel 


374  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

coward,  who  recklessly  exposed  the  lives  of  his  best  men  in  the 
jealous  desire  to  rid  himself  of  generals  who  were  his  more  than 
rivals  in  renown.  Suleiman  deserted  his  sick  and  wounded,  and 
lost  all  his  guns ;  and  among  other  worse  acts  of  which  he  is  ac- 
cused, is  that  of  having  burned  a  hospital  at  Philippopolis  contain- 
ing one  hundred  and  eighty  wounded." 

The  Russians  continued  to  advance  steadily  on  their  whole  line 
toward  Constantinople,  and  occupied  the  most  important  positions 
on  their  way  without  meeting  with  any  opposition. 

Negotiations  for  an  armistice  were  begun  soon  after  the  fall  of 
Adrianople,  and  were  brought  to  a  successful  conclusion  on  January 
31st.  During  the  whole  of  the  negotiations  the  Russians  continued 
their  advance  upon  Constantinople.  When  the  armistice  was  con- 
cluded they  had  advanced  as  far  as  Tchorlu,  within  a  short  distance 
of  Tchataldja,  which  were  the  central  and  most  important  points  of 
the  defenses  of  the  capital.  Tchataldja  had  been  fortified  during  1877, 
under  the  direction  of  Blum  Pasha,  a  Prussian  by  birth,  who  had 
erected  fifteen  strong  redoubts  at  this  point.  A  considerable  army 
had  been  gathered  here  under  the  command  of  Mukhtar  Pasha. 
Even  the  armistice  did  not  check  the  Russians  in  their  career,  as  will 
be  seen  from  the  following  telegrams  from  Mr.  Layard  to  Earl  Derby. 

On  February  5th  he  telegraphed :  "  Although  armistice  has  been 
concluded,  the  Russians  are  pushing  on  to  Constantinople.  Not- 
withstanding the  protest  of  the  Turkish  commander,  the  Turkish 
troops  were  compelled  by  General  Strukoff  to  evacuate  Silivria  last 
night,  and  the  protest  of  the  Turkish  commander  was  refused.  The 
Russian  General  declared  that  according  to  his  orders  it  was  abso- 
lutely necessary  that  he  should  occupy  Tchataldja  to-day."  And  on 
the  following  day  he  telegraphed:  "The  Russians  have  occupied 
Tchataldja  in  considerable  force.  The  Russian  General  insisted 
upon  the  abandonment,  by  the  Turks,  of  the  Tchekmedje  lines  as 
one  of  the  conditions  of  the  armistice,  and  the  Turks  have  been 
compelled  altogether  to  retire  from  them,  leaving  Constantinople 
quite  undefended."  The  Russians  continued  to  move  their  troops 
through  Tchorlu,  Tchataldja,  and  then  along  the  coast  of  the  Sea 
of  Marmora  to  Eregli  and  Rodosto.  On  February  24th,  San 
Stefano,  a  suburb  of  Constantinople,  situated  on  the  Sea  of  Mar- 
mora, and  but  ten  miles  from  the  capital,  was  occupied  by  the 
Russians.  On  the  Bosporus  they  advanced  as  far  as  Bujukdere,  but 
did  not  enter  this  town. 


ON  TO  CONSTANTINOPLE.  375 

The  Servians  endeavored  to  secure,  while  hostilities  were  still  in 
progress,  as  much  of  Old  Servia  as  possible.  One  column,  that 
of  the  Javor,  operated  along  the  southern  border,  occupying  most 
of  the  important  points  up  to  Novi  Varosh,  while  another  col- 
umn, starting  from  Nissa,  proceeded  southward,  and  occupied 
Vranya  and  Prishtina.  The  Servians  were,  however,  not  very  well 
received  in  Old  Servia,  the  inhabitants  of  which  are,  for  the  most 
part,  Bulgarians,  and  do  not  entertain  very  friendly  feelings  for  the 
Servians.  A  correspondent  describes  the  manner  in  which  the  Ser- 
vians proceeded  in  towns  conquered  by  them,  as  follows  : 

"  Wherever  Servian  troops  and  officials  appear,  the  inhabitants  of 
the  villages  and  towns  are  called  together  to  be  sworn  in  collectively 
as  Servian  subjects.  Their  modus  procedendi  deserves  particular  at- 
tention. As  soon  as  a  village  has  been  taken,  the  Servian  commander 
orders  the  inhabitants  to  appear  in  the  town  hall.  Here  they  are 
received  by  the  priest  in  full  vestments,  with  the  cross  and  the  Bible 
in  his  hands,  who  announces  to  them,  in  very  few  words,  that  the 
Servian  Prince  Milan  Obrenovitch  IY.  has  set  out  to  liberate  the 
ancestral  lands  of  the  Servians  from  foreign  rule.  All  the  inhabitants 
of  these  lands  would  be  from  this  time  on  citizens  of  Servia,  enjoying 
equal  rights,  and  it  was  expected  that  they  would  be  loyal  subjects 
of  the  Prince.  They  should,  therefore,  now  take  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance. After  this  ceremony  had  been  gone  through  with,  the  priest 
kissed  all  the  new  Servians,  while  the  military  commandant  embraced 
only  the  notables.  The  community  then  offered  their  presents,  con- 
sisting chiefly  of  provisions,  while  the  commandant  gave  to  the  elder 
a  handful  of  ducats,  which  were  regarded  as  a  present  of  the  new 
ruler."  "Widin,  which  had  been  invested  by  a  force  consisting  of 
Rumanians  and  Servians,  surrendered  on  Feb.  23d.  The  Ottomans 
marched  out  with  arms  and  baggage  before  the  Rumanian  army, 
which  then  entered  the  fortress.  The  town  had  suffered  much  from 
the  bombardment.  The  Christian  and  Rumanian  inhabitants,  num- 
bering, with  the  fugitives  from  Plevna  and  the  environs  of  Widin, 
not  fewer  than  70,000,  gave  the  victors  an  enthusiastic  reception.  A 
few  days  before  the  armistice  was  concluded  a  deputation  of  leading 
inhabitants  begged  the  governor  to  put  a  stop  to  useless  conflict. 

After  Suleiman  Pasha  had  left  Bulgaria  with  the  greater  part  of 
his  army,  the  remainder  gradually  retreated  on  the  one  hand  to  Rust- 
chuk,  and  on  the  other  to  Shumla.  On  Jan.  24th,  the  Czarevitch 
finally  crossed  the  Lorn,  occupied  Osman  Bazar  on  the  27th,  and 


376  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Rasgrad  on  the  28th,  and  then  proceeded  to  invest  Rustehuk  and 
Shumla.  Rustchuk  was  evacuated  by  the  Turks  on  February  20th. 
Gen.  Zimmennann,  in  the  Dobrudja,  after  advancing  as  far  as 
Trajan's  "Wall  up  to  the  middle  of  June,  stopped  there,  and  kept  en- 
tirely on  the  defensive,  with  the  exception  of  an  occasional  cavalry 
reconnoissance  in  the  direction  of  Varna.  On  Jan.  20,  1878,  after 
a  period  of  inactivity  of  over  six  months,  he  suddenly  left  his  posi- 
tion at  Medjidie  and  advanced  against  Bazardjik,  where  a  force  of 
about  10,000  were  stationed.  On  the  22d,  the  Russian  advance 
guard  engaged  the  Turkish  outposts  at  Cair  Harman,  and  occupied 
this  place.  On  the  26th,  after  a  short  engagement,  Bazardjik  itself 
was  taken.  The  Turkish  army,  composed  mainly  of  the  Egyptian 
contingent,  escaped  to  Yarna. 


A  TURKISH  BATTERY  OVERTAKEN   BY  A  STORM  IN  THE   BALKANS. 


CHAPTEE   X. 

MONTENEGRO   AND   THE   GREEK   PROVINCES. 

Negotiations  between  Turkey  and  Montenegro  broken  off— The  Turkish  Armies  Operat- 
ing against  Montenegro  —  The  Montenegrin  Forces — Operations  in  the  South — Ali 
Saib  Repulsed — Suleiman  Captures  Kristatch,  the  Duga  Pass,  and  Relieves  Nicsic — 
Incapacity  of  the  Montenegrin  Leaders —  Suleiman  Captures  Ostrok,  and  marches 
through  Montenegro  to  join  Ali  Saib  in  the  South  —  Suleiman  and  his  Army  sent 
to  Rumelia — Prince  Nicholas  takes  Nicsic  and  other  Points  in  the  Herzegovina — 
Cessation  of  Hostilities  —  The  Montenegrins  Capture  Spizza  and  Antivari — Opera- 
tions against  Scutari  interrupted  by  the  Armistice — Operations  in  the  Greek  Prov- 
inces and  in  Crete — Short  participation  of  Greece  in  the  War. 

IMMEDIATELY  upon  the  departure  of  the  Montenegrin  delegates 
from  Constantinople,  April  13th,  Prince  Nicholas  addressed  a  note 
to  the  powers,  in  which  he  accused  the  Turks  of  having  broken  off 
negotiations  because  Montenegro  demanded  that  refugees  from  Her- 
zegovina should  be  restored  to  their  homes  and  the  Kutchi  prisoners 
liberated.  The  Prince  declared  that  alone,  without  allies,  but  rely- 
ing on  the  abnegation  of  his  subjects,  he  would,  as  in  former  times, 
desperately  defend  his  territory  against  superior  forces,  hoping  that 
if  he  were  defeated,  Christian  Europe  would  save  the  women  and 
the.  children. 

At  the  same  time  the  Montenegrins  again  began  blockading  Nicsic, 
which  had  been  regularly  provisioned  during  the  negotiations,  and 
also  showed  considerable  activity  at  various  other  points.  But  the 
Turkish  army,  owing  to  disease  within  its  ranks,  did  not  resume  hos- 
tilities until  the  beginning  of  June.  At  that  time  a  forward  move- 
ment was  made  by  the  Turks  from  three  different  sides.  On  the 
southern  border,  Ali  Saib  advanced  from  Spuz  up  the  valley  of  the 
Zeta  with  30,000  men.  In  Herzegovina  Suleiman  Pasha  was  ad- 
vancing with  10,000  men,  while  Mehemet  Ali  Pasha,  who  com- 
manded the  troops  in  Hascia,  was  to  advance  from  the  north-east 
with  53,000  men.  But  while  the  latter  commander  was  to  act  on 
his  own  responsibility,  the  other  two  generals  were  to  advance,  the 
one  from  the  north  and  the  other  from  the  south,  and  after  joining 
their  forces  at  Danilograd,  proceed  to  conquer  the  country.  Opposed 

(379) 


380  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

to  these  forces  the  Montenegrins  had  about  25,000  men  at  the  northern 
end  of  Duga  Pass.  Vukovitch  invested  Kristatch  and  the  fort  Goran- 
sko.  Another  part  of  the  northern  corps  of  the  Montenegrins  was 
at  Presyeka  and  Osdrenitchi  and  invested  ISTicsic.  A  third  part  was 
gathered  around  Kolashin  to  oppose  Meheraet  Ali.  In  the  south 
the  main  corps  was  stationed  at  Martinitza  under  the  command  of 
Petrovitch.  The  most  difficult  work  was  that  allotted  to  Suleiman 
Pasha,  whose  main  object  was  necessarily  to  relieve  and  provision 
first  Kristatch  and  Goransko,  and  then  Nicsic,  and  afterward  march 
on  to  join  Ali  Saib.  The  distance  from  Nicsic  to  Spuz  is  twenty 
miles,  while  the  width  of  Montenegro  on  this  line  is  but  fifteen  miles. 
From  the  boundary  to  Danilograd,  Suleiman  Pasha  had  but  twelve 
miles,  and  Ali  Saib  about  four  miles  to  march,  so  that  if  the  two 
Turkish  generals  had  once  reached  the  boundary,  they  ought  to  have 
met  within  one  day,  provided  they  did  not  encounter  any  opposition. 

In  the  south,  Ah'  Saib,  after  a  few  engagements,  advanced,  on 
June  6th,  from  Spuz  against  the  main  position  of  Petrovitch  at 
Martinitza,  but  was  repulsed  after  a  long  and  severe  engagement, 
and  retreated  to  Spuz.  From  here  he  attempted,  on  the  7th,  to 
march  up  the  valley  of  the  Moratcha,  and  to  attack  Petrovitch's  flank, 
but  finding  him  prepared,  again  retreated  to  Turkish  territory. 
Petrovitch  now  took  the  offensive,  and  in  the  following  days  drove 
Ali  Saib  beyond  Spuz,  before  which  place  he  then  encamped  with- 
out formally  investing  it.  He  continued,  however,  to  bombard 
Spuz,  and  to  hold  Ali  Sail)  in  check  until  the  middle  of  June,  when 
the  events  in  the  north  made  it  impossible  for  him  to  retain  this 
position. 

In  the  north,  Suleiman  divided  his  troops  into  two  columns,  and 
marched  them  against  Goransko  and  Kristatch,  at  the  entrance  to  the 
Duga  Pass.  At  the  latter  point  the  corps  of  Gen.  Vukovitch  had 
erected  fortifications,  which  the  Turks  attacked.  At  first  they  were 
repulsed,  but  afterward  succeeded  in  forcing  Gen.  Yukovitch  to 
retire  to  his  second  line  of  defense.  The  engagement  was  very 
sanguinary,  the  loss  of  the  Turks  being  over  3,000  men,  while  that 
of  the  Montenegrins  was  also  very  large. 

At  Goransko  the  Montenegrins  were  more  successful.  General 
Sotchitza  repulsed  the  Turks  under  Ali  Pasha,  who  then  retreated 
to  Muratovizza.  The  third  Turkish  column,  which  invaded  Monte- 
negro in  the  district  of  Vassovitch,  the  extreme  north-eastern  corner 
of  the  principality,  under  the  command  of  Mehemet  Ali,  was  chiefly 


MONTENEGRO  AND  THE  GREEK  PROVINCES.          381 

intended  to  harass  the  Montenegrins,  and  draw  their  attention  from 
the  other  points. 

The  first  task  of  Suleiman  Pasha,  after  dislodging  the  Monte- 
negrins from  Kristatch,  was  to  relieve  the  garrison  and  provision  the 
fort  of  Goransko,  or  Piva,  as  the  Turks  call  it.  With  a  view  to  this, 
he  made  a  demonstration  in  the  direction  of  Presyeka,  whither  the 
Montenegrins  had  retired,  and  strengthened  the  column  under  Ali 
Pasha,  likewise  making  for  Goransko.  Thus  reinforced,  the  column 
advanced  and  provisioned  the  fort.  *>, 

Suleiman  Pasha  then  again  took  up  his  operations  against  Nicsic. 
After  two  days'  fighting,  lasting  almost  from  morning  till  night,  he  dis- 
lodged the  Montenegrins  from  their  positions  in  the  Duga  Pass,  and 
forced  them  to  retire  to  Lakovo,  toward  Banyani.  The  Montenegrin 
force  arrayed  against  Nicsic  also  left  the  plain,  and  Prince  Nicholas 
transferred  his  headquarters  from  Planinitza,  near  Nicsic,  back  to 
Ostrok,  on  the  heights  in  Montenegrin  territory.  The  battle  was 
very  severe,  and  cost  thousands  of  men  on  both  sides.  Nicsic  was 
soon  after  relieved. 

The  battle  of  Kristatch  proved  the  incapacity  of  Gen.  Yukovitch 
as  d  military  leader.  Both  armies  were  exhausted  after  the  battle, 
and  that  of  Suleiman  Pasha  had  no  communication.  The  Montene- 
grins lost  no  positions,  and  might  have  maintained  Kristatch  against 
any  further  direct  attack,  or  by  following  up  the  battle  by  an  attack 
in  full  force  with  the  six  fresh  battalions  received  a  day  or  two  later, 
might  have  forced  Suleiman  Pasha  back  on  Gatchko,  he  being  less 
able  to  sustain  a  renewal  of  the  struggle  than  the  Montenegrins. 
The  interval  of  inaction  which  followed  sufficiently  proves  this.  In 
falling  back  on  Presyeka,  Yukovitch  acted  under  exaggerated  im- 
pressions of  the  strength  of  the  Turkish  force  and  apprehensions 
which  had  no  proper  basis.  At  Presyeka  he  made  the  graver  mis- 
take of  spreading  his  army  along  a  thin  line  of  four  miles,  the  bat- 
talions being  often  without  any  means  of  intercommunication  or 
supports,  and  concealed  from  one  another,  and  in  great  part  from  their 
commander,  by  dense  forests,  owing  to  which  he  could  not  follow 
the  operations.  Some  battalions  received  no  orders  at  all.  During 
the  fighting  which  preceded  the  revictualling  of  Nicsic,  the  Turkish 
attack  was  concentrated  on  the  right  wing,  two  battalions  of  which, 
after  a  desperate  fight  of  two  hours,  partly  hand-to-hand,  were  driven 
in,  and  there  being  no  supports,  the  rest  of  the  wing  was  cut  off  and 
obliged  to  fall  back.  For  two  days  many  of  the  men  had  no  food. 


382  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

What  made  the  blunder  worse  was  that  Yukovitch  had  decided  not 
to  oppose  the  further  advance  of  Suleiman  Pasha  before  the  attack 
was  made;  but,  instead  of  immediately  removing  his  troops  and 
providing  for  the  defense  of  Plauinitza,  the  Montenegrin  General 
waited  till  the  Turks  had  entered  Nicsic,  when  he  was  compelled  to 
make  a  circuitous  march  of  two  days  to  reach  the  Prince,  while  the 
Turks,  having  rested  two  days,  were  in  front  of  Planinitza,  before  a 
sufficient  Montenegrin  force  had  arrived  to  fortify  and  hold  it.  The 
defense  of  this  strong  position  being  thus  impracticable,  Prince 
Nicholas  fell  back,  followed  by  the  Turks. 

Suleiman  Pasha  continued  to  advance  very  slowly,  the  road  being 
obstinately  contested  by  the  Montenegrins.  But,  bravely  as  the 
Montenegrin  soldiers  fought,  the  utter  incapacity  of  their  leaders  lost 
for  them  all  the  advantages  gained  by  their  bravery.  It  was  a  matter 
of  great  wonder  at  the  time  that  the  Russians  did  not  provide  Prince 
Nicholas  with  capable  officers.  For,  although  according  to  consular 
reports,  in  the  middle  of  June,  Suleiman  Pasha  had  22,000  regulars 
*and  from  5,000  to  8,000  irregulars,  against  whom  the  Prince  could 
only  oppose  8,000  to  10,000,  and  the  entire  Turkish  forces  operating 
against  Montenegro  amounted  to  60,000  men,  the  odds  were  no 
greater  than  those  against  which  the  Montenegrins  had  frequently 
successfully  contended. 

On  June  17th,  Suleiman  Pasha  attacked  Ostrok.  This  place,  at 
which  Prince  Nicholas  had  taken  up  his  headquarters,  is  a  convent, 
built  in  a  spacious  cavern  on  the  side  of  a  cliff,  which  rises  400  feet 
above  it.  It  was  always  the  great  stronghold  and  powder  magazine 
of  the  Montenegrins,  and  is  considered  nearly  impregnable,  having 
been  defended  in  1Y68  by  thirty  men  against  30,000  Turks.  The 
convent  was  burned  on  June  20th.  The  fighting  continued  until 
the  evening  of  the  21st.  On  the  22d,  the  Montenegrins  remained 
quiet,  and  the  Turks,  improving  this  opportunity,  gathered  their 
forces  on  the  heights  between  Ostrok  and  Gradatz.  On  the  23d, 
the  Turks  continued  their  march  to  the  south,  gaining  but  little 
ground,  and  continually  harassed  by  Montenegrin  detachments. 
Petrovitch,  on  June  22d,  left  his  positions  before  Spuz  in  order  to 
advance  against  Suleiman  Pasha.  Ali  Saib,  leaving  his  main  force 
at  Spuz,  sent  only  an  advanced  guard  after  him.  On  June  23d, 
Suleiman  Pasha  began  to  descend  from  the  heights  of  Ostrok  into 
the  valley  of  Gradatz,  being  continually  attacked  even  by  detach- 
ments from  Petrovitch's  main  body.  On  the  24th,  his  advanced 


MONTENEGRO  AND  THE  GREEK  PROVINCES.          383 

guard  finally  met  detachments  of  Ali  Saib's  troops  at  Gradatz. 
During  the  eight  days,  from  June  17th  to  24th,  he  had  advanced  at 
the  most  nine  miles,  and  had  lost,  according  to  his  own  statements, 
631  dead  and  864  wounded ;  altogether,  1,495  men  out  of  about  12,000 
combatants.  The  loss  of  the  Montenegrins  is  not  known,  but  it  can, 
not  have  been  nearly  as  much  as  that  of  the  Turks.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  generally  believed  that  Suleiman  Pasha  lost  many  more 
men  than  he  stated,  and  in  fact  than  he  could  have  known.  The 
proposed  march  to  Cettigne  was  now  abandoned  after  the  experience 
gained,  and  the  two  Pashas  gathered  their  troops  in  the  plains  of 
Spuz  and  Podgoritza,  and  set  to  work  to  prepare  them  for  embark- 
ation at  Antivari,  to  go  to  a  more  important  seat  of  war. 

Mehemet  Ali  undertook  but  one  expedition.  He  sent  his  Bashi- 
Bazouks  into  the  north-eastern  part  of  Montenegro,  where  they 
devastated  the  country  in  a  manner  peculiar  to  them. 

After  the  departure  of  the  Turkish  troops,  Prince  Nicholas  again 
took  the  offensive  and  invested  Nicsic.  On  July  22d  and  23d  sev- 
eral outlying  works  of  this  city  were  taken,  and  on  September  8th, 
Nicsic  itself  surrendered,  after  a  Turkish  corps  under  Hafiz  Pasha, 
which  had  been  sent  to  relieve  it,  had  been  defeated.  The  fall  of 
Nicsic  was  followed  by  that  of  Presyeka  on  the  16th,  of  Bilek  on 
the  17th,  and  of  the  four  forts  in  the  Duga  Pass  on  the  18th  of 
September.  Montenegro  thus  came  into  possession  of  a  part  of 
Herzegovina,  on  whose  final  maintenance  the  Montenegrins  could 
count  all  the  more  readily,  as  their  conquests  were  only  in  the  inte- 
rior, and  as  Austria  therefore  did  not  raise  any  objections  to'  their 
holding  them.  For  over  a  month  there  was  now  a  cessation  of  hos- 
tilities, during  which  the  Montenegrin  troops  were  dismissed  to  their 
homes  for  the  ostensible  object  of  gathering  their  crops.  The  few 
regular  Turkish  troops  which  had  remained  behind,  were  stationed 
in  Northern  Albania,  under  Ali  Saib.  In  the  beginning  of  Novem- 
ber, the  Montenegrins  again  resumed  operations,  stormed  several  of 
the  outlying  works  of  Antivari  on  the  12th ;  captured  the  fortress 
of  Spizza  on  the  16th;  and  having  taken  the  town  of  Antivari 
shortly  afterward,  proceeded  to  a  siege  of  the  citadel.  It  was  ex- 
pected that  Ali  Saib,  who  was  at  Scutari,  would  come  to  the  relief 
of  the  garrison,  as  he  was  ordered  to  do  by  the  Sultan.  But  he  de- 
clared himself  unable  to  perform  this  task,  and  the  Montenegrins 
forced  a  surrender  of  the  citadel  on  the  10th  of  January.  The  gar- 
rison at  the  time  of  the  surrender  consisted  of  1,500  men  under  the 


384  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

command  of  Saban  Bey  and  Selim  Bey,  while  the  civil  population 
of  the  town  numbered  2,600.  The  Montenegrins  found  here  large 
quantities  of  arms  and  ammunition,  comprising  eighty  barrels  of 
powder,  'fifteen  large  cannon,  and  many  small  arms,  all  of  which 
they  could  make  good  use  of.  As  the  Montenegrins  were  short  of 
provisions,  they  were  forced  to  dismiss  the  prisoners,  the  majority 
of  whom  were  Albanians  from  the  neighboring  towns,  to  their 
homes.  On  January  19th,  the  Montenegrins  attacked  the  fortified 
heights  above  Dulcigno,  and  carried  them  after  a  long  and  bloody 
fight,  notwithstanding  the  severe  firing  which  they  suffered  from  a 
Turkish  iron-clad  in  the  road.  One  whole  battalion  of  Turkish  reg- 
ulars were  taken  prisoners.  The  same  evening  the  town  was 
stormed,  and  the  garrison  of  the  citadel,  including  several  hundred 
Bashi-Bazouks,  being  driven  out,  took  refuge  on  board  the  fleet. 
The  Montenegrins  then  proceeded  to  invest  Scutari.  For  this  pur- 
pose they  planted  batteries  commanding  the  river  Boyana,  thus  cutting 
off  the  place  from  the  sea,  and  successively  occupied  all  the  Turkish 
inland  fortresses  on  the  Lake  of  Scutari.  Another  Montenegrin  force 
occupied  the  line  of  the  Sieveno  River,  effecting  an  interruption  of 
communications  between  Podgoritza  and  Scutari.  They  were,  how- 
ever, prevented  from  proceeding  any  further  against  Scutari  by  the 
conclusion  of  the  armistice. 

The  Greek  provinces  of  Turkey,  comprising  Thessaly,  Epirus, 
and  the  island  of  Crete,  were  the  scene  of  great  excitement  during 
the  war  of  1877-'78.  In  Crete  the  National  Assembly  demanded 
reforms  of  the  Turkish  Government,  which  were,  however,  not 
granted.  The  island,  on  the  contrary,  was  completely  blockaded  by 
the  Turkish  fleet,  while  irregular  troops  were  stationed  at  various 
points,  ready  to  suppress  any  attempt  at  a  rising.  A  revolutionary 
committee  had  established  itself  in  the  interior  of  the  mountains, 
which  were  inaccessible  to  the  Turkish  troops,  and  gathered  around 
itself  large  numbers  of  the  discontented  inhabitants.  In  February, 
1878,  the  revolutionary  government  proclaimed  their  annexation  to 
Greece.  In  Thessaly  the  condition  of  the  people  was  a  truly  miser- 
able one.  Large  bodies  of  irregular  troops,  together  with  bands  of 
robbers,  plundered  the  country,  and  the  Turkish  authorities  were  rep- 
resented as  unable  and  unwilling  to  protect  the  population.  A  body 
of  insurgents  under  a  leader  named  Kastakis  established  itself  in  the 
mountains.  No  actions  of  any  importance  occurred,  however,  until 
on  February  2,  1878,  the  Greek  army  crossed  the  frontier.  The 


MONTENEGRO  AND  THE  GREEK  PROVINCES.          385 

action  of  the  Greek  Government  in  permitting  this  step  was  ex- 
plained by  the  following  official  declaration,  published  on  Feb.  1st : 

"  The  Hellenic  Government,  moved  by  the  sufferings  in  the 
Greek  provinces  of  Turkey,  has  given  orders  for  an  army  of  12,000 
men  to  cross  the  frontier  to-morrow  morning,  and  occupy  Thessaly, 
Epirus,  and  Macedonia,  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  public  order 
and  preventing  massacres  of  Christians." 

On  the  following  morning,  a  corps  of  10,000  Greek  troops  and 
many  thousand  volunteers,  under  the  command  of  General  Soutzo, 
crossed  the  frontier  into  Thessaly.  The  Turkish  troops,  on  the  ap- 
proach of  the  Greek  army,  delivered  up  the  keys  of  their  barracks 
to  the  Greek  commander,  and  withdrew  to  Domoco.  The  insur- 
gents, who  co-operated  with  the  Greeks,  occupied  Rendina.  The 
Turks  lost  no  time  in  threatening  their  new  adversary  on  his  most 
vulnerable  side — the  sea.  The  Turkish  fleet  under  Hobart  Pasha 
was  ordered  to  the  Piraeus,  and  the  news  of  its  approach  caused  a 
great  panic  in  the  Greek  capital  and  throughout  the  kingdom,  more 
especially  as  there  were  only  500  troops  in  Athens,  and  only  a  small 
English  gunboat  in  the  Piraeus.  The  Government,  however,  at  the 
request  of  the  representatives  of  the  powers,  recalled  its  troops  soon 
afterward.  On  February  14th,  M.  Kumunduros,  the  Minister  Presi- 
dent, stated  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  that  the  powers,  having 
represented  to  Greece  that  if  she  continued  her  course  of  action 
alone,  after  the  armistice  was  signed,  she  would  forfeit  their  protec- 
tion, but  if  she  suspended  her  military  action,  she  might  be  assured 
of  their  support,  the  Government  thought  it  was  their  duty  to  recall 
the  army.  This  step  caused  much  popular  indignation  among  the 
Greeks,  which  was  considerably  augmented  when  great  numbers  of 
Christians  from  the  villages  in  Thessaly  evacuated  by  the  Hellenic 
troops  sought  refuge  in  Greece,  in  consequence  of  the  murders  and 
savage  aggression  which  were  committed  by  the  Bashi-Bazouks. 
The  insurrection  continued  after  the  withdrawal  of  the  Greek  troops,, 
although  no  actions  of  any  importance  occurred. 


CHAPTEK  XI. 

NAVAL     OPERATIONS. 

Russian  Fleet  on  the  Black  Sea— Russian  Fortifications  on  the  Black  Sea— Expedition  of 
the  "  Constantine  " — Destruction  of  Turkish  vessels — Expedition  to  the  mouths  of 
the  Danube — Capture  of  a  Turkish  Mail  Steamer  with  a  valuable  cargo — Torpedoes — 
Their  use  in  the  present  War. 

AT  the  beginning  of  the  war  the  Russian  forces  in  the  Black  Sea 
consisted  of  two  monitors,  called  "  Popoffkas,"  four  medium- 
sized  screw  corvettes,  twelve  smaller  steamers,  and  an  unknown 
number  of  smaller  vessels  for  transport  and  packet  service.  As  will 
be  seen  from  this  statement,  Russia  did  not  have  a  single  man-of-war 
on  the  Black  Sea,  her  whole  force  in  its  waters  being  intended  for 
defensive  purposes  only.  The  twelve  steamers  mentioned  above  had 
been  bought  from  the  Russian  Society  for  steam  navigation  and 
commerce,  and  with  the  exception  of  three,  which  had  been  built 
recently,  were  all  old  vessels.  The  schooners  and  packet  boats, 
among  which  was  included  the  Imperial  pleasure  yacht  "  Livadia," 
were  small  screw  steamers  of  wood  or  iron,  carrying  two  four- 
pounders  each.  These  vessels  were  not  formed  into  squadrons; 
they  were  assigned  to  duty  more  with  a  view  of  aiding  the  local 
coast  defense.  The  most  important  points  of  this  are  the  fortifica- 
tions in  the  bay  of  Kherson,  consisting  of  the  two  opposite  forts  of 
Oksakoff  and  Kieburn.  Between  Oksakoff  and  Odessa,  the  coast  is 
inaccessible  ;  from  the  latter  point  to  Akkerman,  it  is  defended  by 
strong  fortifications,  while  the  shore  is  lined  with  torpedoes.  The 
weakest  point  between  Nikolayeff  and  Odessa  is  the  peninsula  of 
Perekop,  where  there  is  an  old  wall  which  was  erected  by  the  Tar- 
tars, at  the  time  of  their  rule  over  the  Crimea,  and  which  greatly 
resembles  Trajan's  Wall  in  the  Dobrudja.  It  was  formerly  used  as 
a  defense  against  invasions,  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  of  1877" 
was  again  intended  to  serve  this  purpose.  The  entire  south  side  of 
the  Crimea  is  strongly  fortified ;  earthworks  have  been  erected  at 

Sebastopol.      Temporary  fortifications   have  also   been  erected  at 
(386) 


NAVAL  OPERATIONS.  387 

Sudak,  near  Feodosia.  The  entrance  to  the  Sea  of  Asov  is  closed  by 
the  works  of  Kertch,  which  consist  of  the  batteries  of  Yeni  Kaleh, 
and  the  forts  on  the  western  point  of  the  opposite  peninsula  of 
Taraan. 

The  activity  of  the  Russian  fleet  on  the  Black  Sea  gave  proof  of 
great  daring  and  bravery  on  the  part  of  the  Russian  seamen.  Even 
the  first  undertaking  showed  that  they  were  not  willing  to  relin- 
quish all  aggressive  movements  and  to  confine  themselves  to  a  defense 
of  the  coast.  On  the  evening  of  May  12th,  the  steamer  "  Constan- 
tine  "  left  Sebastopol  for  Batum  ;  after  having  proceeded  for  some 
distance,  it  stopped,  and  sent  out  four  torpedo-boats,  which  suc- 
ceeded in  applying  a  torpedo  under  a  Turkish  frigate.  The  tor- 
pedo did  not  ignite,  and  the  alarm  which  was  given  compelled  the 
Russian  boats  to  seek  safety  in  flight.  On  the  morning  of  the  15th, 
the  "Constantine"  arrived  with  two  of  the  torpedo-boats  in  Sebastopol, 
while  the  two  others  succeeded  in  reaching  the  harbor  of  Poti.  An  en- 
gagement which  the  Russian  steamer  "  Yesta  "  had  with  a  Turkish 
iron-clad  at  Kustendje  on  July  23d,  resulted  less  fortunately  for  the 
Russians.  The  engagement  lasted  five  hours,  during  which  the  rud- 
der of  the  "  Yesta  "  was  destroyed,  while  she  received  two  damaging 
holes  in  the  hull.  It  was  owing  only  to  the  fact  that  a  Russian  bomb 
exploded  in  the  turret  of  the  monitor,  that  the  latter  desisted  from 
continuing  the  engagement,  and  that  the  Russian  steamer  could  re- 
turn to  Sebastopol.  On  July  21st,  the  steamer  "Argonaut"  had 
reconnoitered  the  Kilia  mouth  of  the  Danube,  and  had  encountered 
three  Turkish  iron-clads  and  ten  merchantmen.  A  short  engage- 
ment ensued,  and  in  the  evening  the  "  Argonaut  "  returned  safely  to 
Oksakoff. 

The  expeditions  undertaken  by  the  steamers  "  Elborus  "  and  "  Con- 
stantine," from  July  30th  to  August  4th,  were  of  greater  importance 
than  the  previous  expeditions,  as  showing  the  assurance  with  which 
the  Russians  went  to  work  in  these  undertakings.  The  "  Elborus  "  re- 
turned from  a  cruise  to  the  coasts  of  Rumelia  and  Anatolia  after 
having  sunk  a  Turkish  brig.  The  "  Constantine  "  had,  in  the  night 
from  August  3d  to  4th,  advanced  as  far  as  the  entrance  of  the  Bos- 
porus, and  at  Kilia,  near  the  European  side  of  the  strait,  blew  up 
by  means  of  torpedoes  a  Turkish  sailing  vessel  laden  with  grain,  and 
destroyed  three  other  Turkish  vessels  carrying  petroleum.  On  August 
8th,  a  flotilla  consisting  of  five  larger  vessels  and  four  torpedo -sloops 
set  out  from  Odessa  under  the  protection  of  the  two  Popoft'kas,  the 


388  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

steamer  "  Vladimir,"  and  two  torpedo-cutters,  to  which  were  after- 
ward added  the  steamers  "  Elborus  "  and  "  Argonaut "  and  the  yacht 
"  Livadia,"  and  after  a  successful  voyage,  reached  the  Kilia  mouth  of 
the  Danube,  which  it  entered  under  the  very  eyes  of  a  fleet  of  Turk- 
ish iron-clads  stationed  at  the  Sulina  mouth.  The  object  of  this 
successful  expedition  was  to  reinforce  the  Russian  fleet  in  the  Lower 
Danube,  and  to  supply  it  with  the  material  for  torpedoes. 

On  October  8th,  another  Russian  flotilla,  consisting  of  floating 
batteries  and  armored  gun-boats,  attacked  the  Turkish  men-of-war 
lying  before  Sulina,  and  not  only  forced  the  entrance  into  the 
Danube,  but  also  compelled  the  Turkish  vessels  to  retreat  to  Yarna, 
where  Hassan  Pasha  was  stationed  with  several  iron-clads. 

The  only  other  action  of  importance  on  the  Black  Sea  was  the 
capture  of  the  mail-steamer  "  Mersine  "  by  two  Russian  vessels.  The 
"  Mersine,"  which  is  described  as  a  fine  ship,  and  which  had  been 
but  newly  repaired,  had  on  board  a  very  valuable  cargo,  a  large 
quantity  of  silver  ore,  on  its  way  to  the  mint  at  Constantinople. 
There  were  also  on  board  all  the  private  papers  and  effects  of  Mukh- 
tar  Pasha ;  all  the  Government  dispatches  and  orders  which  had 
been  received  from  time  to  time,  and  it  was  by  the  merest  chance 
that  Mukhtar  himself  was  not  on  the  vessel.  Beyond  an  occasional 
bombardment  of  Russian  towns  on  the  Black  Sea  by  Hobart  Pasha's 
squadron,  nothing  of  any  importance  occurred  up  to  the  conclusion 
of  the  armistice. 

The  Russians  had  a  powerful  weapon  for  their  naval  operations 
in  the  torpedoes  which  they  employed.  These  instruments,  as  used 
in  naval  warfare,  are  of  two  kinds,  stationary  or  defensive,  and  lo- 
comotive or  offensive.  The  stationary  torpedoes  are  sunk  and 
arranged  so  as  to  keep  at  a  fixed  distance  below  the  surface  of  the 
water.  They  are  usually  ignited  by  electric  action.  They  were  used 
by  the  Russians  to  great  advantage  during  the  Crimean  war,  while 
during  the  present  war,  it  was  said  that  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea 
were  lined  with  them.  The  knowledge  of  which  fact  was  probably 
the  cause  of  the  reluctance  of  the  Porte  to  countenance  the  project 
of  attacking  the  Russian  towns  on  the  Black  Sea,  which  Hobart 
Pasha  is  understood  to  have  urged. 

While  the  stationary  torpedo  was  not  called  into  use  during  the  war 
of  1877  to  1878,  tb.3  locomotive  torpeao  played  a  prominent  part. 
The  Turkish  monitor  destroyed  on  the  Danube  was  attacked  by  tor- 
peio-boats,  while  an  unsuccessful  attempt  against  other  Turkish  ves- 


RUSSIAN  TORPEDO  BOATS  ENGAGING  THE  BATTERIES  NEAR  SILISTRIA. 


NAVAL  OPERATIONS. 


391 


sels  was  made  by  a  boat  carrying  a  torpedo  affixed  to  a  long  pole. 
At  the  extremity  of  the  pole  is  fixed  a  metal  case,  made  water-tight, 
containing  a  sufficient  charge  of  gunpowder  or  other  explosive,  while 
from  a  battery  on  board  electric  wires  are  stretched  along  the  pole  to 
the  fuse  of  the  machine.  At  the  right  moment  the  pole  is  launched 
forward,  and  at  the  same  time  thrust  beneath  the  water.  Upon  the 
torpedo's  touching  the  object,  the  operator  in  the  boat  presses  down 
the  key,  the  electric  circuit  is  closed,  and  the  charge  exploded. 

Various  methods  to  protect  vessels  from  torpedoes  have  been 
tried.  Hobart  Pasha  surrounded  his  vessels  off  the  mouth  of  the 
river  Danube  with  a  circle  of  boats  and  connecting -chains,  and 
thereby  secured  them  against  a  resolute  attack.  Crinoline  frames 
have  also  been  use<3,  by  which  the  locomotive  torpedo  is  arrested 
before  striking  the  vessel,  while  English  authorities  recommend  a 
flexible  wire  matting,  which,  yielding  when  struck,  checks  gradually 
and  not  suddenly  the  force  of  the  explosive  engine. 

The  "  fish,"  or  "  Whitehead  torpedo,"  invented  only  recently  by 
Mr.  Whitehead,  an  English  gentleman,  is  a  cigar-shaped  hull  of  iron 
or  steel,  containing  a  powerful  charge,  and  a  small  locomotive  engine 
worked  by  compressed  air.  When  used,  it  is  thrust  out  through  a 
tube  from  the  ship's  side,  and  the  engine  being  set  in  motion,  it 
proceeds  for  several  hundred  yards  beneath  the  surface,  at  a  speed 
said  to  be  as  high  as  twenty  miles  an  hour,  till  it  strikes  the  vessel 
aimed  at,  when  it  explodes  by  concussion.  These  torpedoes  have 
given  eminent  satisfaction,  and  a  number  of  them  were  ordered  by 
the  Russians. 


CHAPTEE  XII. 

DIPLOMATIC   HISTORY   OF   THE   WAB. 

How  the  Declaration  of  War  was  received  in  Europe — England  and  Austria — Correspond- 
ence between  the  British  and  Russian  Governments — Mr.  Gladstone's  Resolutions — 
The  British  Fleet  in  Besika  Bay— The  Vote  of  Credit  in  the  British  Parliament- 
Agitations  in  Austria-Hungary — The  War  Feeling  in  Servia — Prince  Milan's  Visit  to 
the  Czar — The  Excitement  in  Greece — The  Mouths  of  the  Danube — The  Salonica 
Murderers. 

THE  declaration  of  war  intensified  the  anxiety  which  prevailed 
throughout  Europe.  The  efforts  which  the  powers  had  strenuously 
made  during  the  past  two  years  to  preserve  peace  and  prevent  a 
rising  of  the  Eastern  Question,  were  defeated ;  and  this  dreaded 
question,  with  all  of  its  contingencies  and  unknown  perils,  was  again 
before  the  world,  and  would  have  to  be  met  without  evasion.  A 
course  of  events  was  begun,  of  which  no  statesmanship  could  see 
the  end,  and  which  no  power,  perhaps  not  even  all  the  nations  com- 
bined, would  be  able  to  control.  Of  all  the  powers,  Austria  and 
England  were  most  concerned ;  for  they  foresaw  that  in  case  of 
Russian  victory,  which  all  agreed  must  be  the  possible  ending  of  the 
war,  interests  which  they  held  near  and  precious  would  be  put  in 
doubt,  and  harm  would  ultimately  come  to  the  integrity  of  their 
dominions  or  to  their  prestige  ;  and  the  greatest  uneasiness  prevailed 
in  these  countries,  both  in  government  circles  and  among  the  people, 
during  the  whole  course  of  the  war,  despite  the  official  proclamations 
of  neutrality  which  were  promptly  issued,  and  despite  the  often- 
repeated  declarations  of  their  ministers  of  adhesion  to  the  attitude  of 
neutrality  which  they  had  assumed  in  the  beginning.  These  decla- 
rations, however,  were  never  absolute,  but  were  always  qualified  by 
the  reservation  that  the  policy  of  neutrality  would  be  observed  only 
as  long  as  British  or  Austrian  interests  were  not  endangered  ;  and 
they  received  a  curious  commentary  in  the  movements  which  were 
quietly  instituted  under  the  eye  of  the  Government,  in  England  at 
least,  looking  to  preparation  to  be  ready  for  action  when  the  time 
(392) 


DIPLOMATIC  HISTORY  OF  THE  WAR. 


393 


for  decision  should  come.  In  Austria,  the  Hungarian  party,  and  in 
England,  the  extreme  wing  of  the  Conservative  party,  urged  active 
demonstrations  against  the  Turks;  and  their  efforts  were  barely 
kept  in  check  by  the  more  prudent  policy  of  the  Yiennese  Cabinet 
and  the  sturdy  opposition  of  the  English  Liberals  to  every  act  which 
could  bear  the  appearance  of  favoring  the  continuance  of  Turkish 
oppression  of  Christian  peoples. 

The  first  expression  of  the  British  Government  upon  the  questions 
at  issue  after  the  declaration  of  war  was  given  in  a  communication 
of  Earl  Derby,  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs,  to  Lord 
Loftus,  British  Ambassador  at  St.  Petersburg,  communicating  the 
reply  of  the  Government  to  the  Russian  circular  announcing  the 
commencement  of  hostilities.  The  dispatch  stated  that  her  Maj- 
esty's Government  had  received  the  announcement  made  by  the 
Russian  Government  with  deep  regret,  and  could  not  accept  the 
statements  and  conclusions  with  which  Prince  Gortchakoff  had  ac- 
companied it,  as  justifying  the  resolutions  taken.  "  The  protocol," 
the  dispatch  continued,  "  to  which  her  Majesty's  Government,  at 
the  instance  of  that  of  Russia,  recently  became  parties,  required 
from  the  Sultan  no  fresh  guarantees  for  the  reform  of  his  adminis- 
tration. With  a  view  of  enabling  Russia  the  better  to  abstain  from 
isolated  action,  it  affirmed  the  interest  taken  in  common  by  the 
powers  in  the  condition  of  the  Christian  populations  of  Turkey.  It 
went  on  to  declare  that  the  powers  would  watch  carefully  the 
manner  in  which  the  promises  of  the  Ottoman  Government  were 
carried  into  effect ;  and  that  should  their  hopes  be  once  more  disap- 
pointed, they  reserved  to  themselves  the  right  to  consider  in  com- 
mon the  means  which  they  might  deem  best  fitted  to  secure  the 
well-being  of  thq  Christian  populations  and  the  interests  of  the 
general  peace. 

"  To  these  declarations  of  the  intentions  of  the  powers,  the  consent 
of  the  Porte  was  not  asked  or  required.  The  Porte,  no  doubt,  has 
thought  fit — unfortunately,  in  the  opinion  of  her  Majesty's  Gov- 
ernment— to  protest  against  the  expressions  in  question  as  implying 
an  encroachment  on  the  Sultan's  sovereignty  and  independence. 
But  while  so  doing,  and  while  declaring  that  they  can  not  consider 
the  protocol  as  having  any  binding  character  on  Turkey,  the  Turk- 
ish Government  have  again  affirmed  their  intention  of  carrying  into 
execution  the  reforms  already  promised. 

"  Her  Majesty's  Government  can  not  therefore  admit,  as  is  con- 


394 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


tended  by  Prince  Gortchakoff,  that  the  answer  of  the  Porte  removed 
all  hope  of  deference  on  its  part  to  the  wishes  and  advice  of  Europe, 
and  all  security  for  the  application  of  the  suggested  reforms.  Nor 
are  they  of  opinion  that  the  terms  of  the  note  necessarily  precluded 
the  possibility  of  the  conclusion  of  peace  with  Montenegro,  or  of 
the  arrangement  of  mutual  disarmament.  Her  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment still  believes  that,  with  patience  and  moderation  on  both  sides, 
these  objects  might  not  have  improbably  been  attained. 

"Prince  Gortchakoff,  however,  asserts  that  all  opening  is  now 
closed  for  attempts  at  conciliation ;  that  the  Emperor  has  resolved 
to  undertake  the  task  of  obtaining,  by  coercion,  that  which  the 
unanimous  efforts  of  all  the  powers  have  failed  to  obtain  from  the 
Porte  by  persuasion ;  and  he  expresses  his  Imperial  Majesty's  con- 
viction that  this  step  is  in  accordance  with  the  sentiments  and  in- 
terests of  Europe. 

"  It  can  not  be  expected  that  her  Majesty's  Government  should 
agree  in  this  view.  .They  have  not  concealed  their  feeling  that  the 
presence  of  large  Kussiau  forces  on  the  frontiers  of  Turkey,  menac- 
ing its  safety,  rendering  disarmament  impossible,  and  exciting  a 
feeling  of  apprehension  and  fanaticism  among  the  Mussulman  popu- 
lation, constituted  a  material  obstacle  to  internal  pacification  and 
reform.  They  can  not  believe  that  the  entrance  of  those  armies  on 
Turkish  soil  will  alleviate  the  difficulty  or  improve  the  condition  of 
the  Christian  population  throughout  the  Sultan's  dominions. 

"  But  the  course  on  which  the  Russian  Government  has  entered 
involves  graver  and  more  serious  considerations.  It  is  in  contra- 
vention of  the  stipulation  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris  of  March  30, 
1856,  by  which  Russia  and  the  other  signatory  powers  engaged, 
each  on  its  own  part,  to  respect  the  independence  and  the  territorial 
integrity  of  the  Ottoman  Empire.  In  the  Conference  of  London  of 
1871,  at  the  close  of  which  the  above  stipulation,  with  others,  was 
again  confirmed,  the  Russian  Plenipotentiary,  in  common  with 
those  of  the  other  powers,  signed  a  declaration,  affirming  it  to  be 
'  an  essential  principle  of  the  law  of  nations  that  no  power  can 
liberate  itself  from  the  engagements  of  a  treaty,  nor  modify  the 
stipulations  thereof,  unless  with  the  consent  of  the  contracting  par- 
ties by  means  of  an  amicable  arrangement.' 

"  In  taking  action  against  Turkey  on  his  own  part,  and  having 
recourse  to  arms  without  further  consultation  with  his  allies,  the 
Emperor  of  Russia  has  separated  himself  from  the  European  coil- 


DIPLOMATIC  HISTORY  OF  THE  WAR.  395 

cert  hitherto  maintained,  and  has  at  the  same  time  departed  from 
the  rule  to  which  he  himself  had  solemnly  recorded  his  consent. 

"  It  is  impossible  to  foresee  the  consequences  of  such  an  act.  Her 
Majesty's  Government  would  willingly  have  refrained  from  making 
any  observations  in  regard  to  it ;  but,  as  Prince  Gortchakoff  seems 
to  assume,  in  a  declaration  addressed  to  all  the  Governments  of  Eu- 
rope, that  Russia  is  acting  in  the  interest  of  Great  Britain  and  that 
of  the  other  powers,  they  feel  bound  to  state,  in  a  manner  equally 
formal  and  public,  that  the  decision  of  the  Russian  Government  is 
not  one  which  can  have  their  concurrence  or  approval." 

To  this  note  the  Russian  Government  made  no  formal  reply  ;  but 
a  statement  was  published  by  the  Russian  news  agency,  which  was 
considered  as  its  informal  reply.  This  dispatch  remarked  that  there 
would  be  no  Russian  rejoinder,  for  "  to  send  one  would  be  to  carry 
on  a  controversy,  when  it  was  a  question  of  making  history."  En- 
gland's apprehensions  of  future  complications  were,  so  far  as  Russia 
was  concerned,  utterly  unfounded  ;  but  the  powers  which  seriously 
desired  to  re-establish  an  understanding  and  a  guarantee  of  general 
peace  must  seek  a  new  basis  more  in  conformity  with  circumstances, 
without  further  dwelling  on  mistaken  views  of  past  results,  which 
are  the  best  refutation  of  the  English  dispatch. 

As  respects  the  Treaty  of  1871,  appealed  to  in  this  dispatch,  it 
might  be  asked  if  the  Porte  was  not  the  first  to  break  the  engage- 
ment of  the  preceding  Treaty  of  1856.  If  the  English  Cabinet 
maintained  that  the  Porte  was  not  bound  by  it,  then  that  treaty  would 
only  have  served  to  guarantee  the  Porte's  entire  impunity.  All  the 
documents  of  that  period  proved,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  Christian 
powers  did  not  mean  to  defend  a  regime  oppressive  for  Christians. 
They  simply  decided  against  the  exclusive  protection  of  Russia. 
They  substituted  for  it  the  common  protection  of  Europe.  The 
rights  and  duties  attaching  thereto  they  have  often  exercised. 

The  article  cited  instances  of  intervention  which  had  taken  place 
since  the  treaty  went  into  effect,  such  as  the  Andrassy  note,  the 
Berlin  memorandum,  and  others,  and  added  : 

"  Results  have  proved  that  these  platonic  interventions  led  to 
nothing.  If  the  English  Cabinet  regards  the  Treaty  of  1856  as 
important,  that  interpretation  will  hardly  be  accepted  by  Europe, 
or  even  by  the  English  nation,  especially  not  by  the  Russian  Gov- 
ernment or  nation.  In  the  interest  of  this  treaty  the  common 
action  and  pressure  of  Europe  should  have  been  exerted.  Russia 


396  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST, 

has  done  everything  for  this  purpose.  Her  efforts  were  fruitless. 
It  only  remained  for  Russia  to  execute  alone  the  duty  which  the 
other  cabinets,  agreeing  with  her  in  principle,  hesitated  to  assume 
in  practice.  The  Imperial  Cabinet  is  justified  in  affirming  that  it 
is  acting  in  conformity  with  the  sentiments  and  interests  of  Europe. 
The  English  Cabinet  can  not  extricate  itself  from  this  dilemma 

ZD 

except  by  proclaiming  that  England  is  the  first  Mussulman  power 
in  the  world,  and  that  she  consequently  wishes  for  the  maintenance 
of  Turkish  dominion  over  Christians,  even  at  the  cost  of  their  exter- 
mination. We  hold  the  English  nation  in  too  great  esteem  to  be- 
lieve it  would  sanction  such  a  policy." 

On  the  6th  of  May  Earl  Derby  addressed  to  Count  Shuvaloff, 
the  Russian  Ambassador,  who  was  about  leaving  for  St.  Petersburg, 
a  note  on  the  position  of  England  toward  the  belligerents.  After 
stating  that  the  British  Government  had  from  the  first  warned  the 
Turkish  Government  that  it  must  not  look  to  them  for  assistance, 
and  that  they  were  determined  to  carry  impartially  into  effect  the 
policy  thus  announced,  so  long  as  Turkish  interests  alone  were  in- 
volved, the  note  continued : 

ft  Should  the  war  now  in  progress  unfortunately  spread,  interests 
may  be  imperilled  which  they  (the  British  Government)  are  equally 
bound  and  determined  to  defend  ;  and  it  is  desirable  that  they  should 
make  it  clear,  as  far  as  at  the  outset  can  be  done,  what  the  most 
prominent  of  those  interests  are.  Foremost  among  them  is  the 
necessity  of  keeping  open,  uninjured  and  uninterrupted,  the  com- 
munication between  Europe  and  the  East  by  the  Suez  Canal.  An 
attempt  to  blockade  or  otherwise  to  interfere  with  the  canal  or  its 
approaches,  would  be  regarded  by  them  as  a  menace  to  India,  and 
as  a  grave  injury  to  the  commerce  of  the  world.  On  both  these 
grounds  any  such  step — which  they  hope  and  fully  believe  there  is 
no  intention  on  the  part  of  either  belligerent  to  take — would  be 
inconsistent  with  the  maintenance  by  them  of  passive  neutrality." 

Speaking  of  the  ultimate  fate  of  Constantinople,  the  note  con- 
tinued : 

"  The  vast  importance  of  Constantinople,  whether  in  a  military, 
a  political,  or  commercial  point  of  view,  is  too  well  understood  to 
require  explanation.  It  is,  therefore,  scarcely  necessary  to  point  out 
that  her  Majesty's  Government  are  not  prepared  to  witness  with 
indifference  the  passing  into  other  hands  than  those  of  its  present 
possessors,  of  a  capital  holding  so  peculiar  and  important  a  position. 


DIPLOMATIC  HISTORY  OF  THE  WAR.  397 

The  existing  arrangements  made  under  European  sanction,  which 
regulate  the  navigation  of  the  Bosporus  and  Dardanelles,  appear 
to  them  wise  and  salutary,  and  there  would  be,  in  their  judgment, 
serious  objections  to  their  alteration  in  any  material  particular." 

Other  points  were  referred  to  in  the  note  as  involving  interests 
which  the  course  of  the  war  might  show  it  to  be  necessary  to  pro- 
tect, the  principal  of  which  was  the  Persian  Gulf.  These  state- 
ments were  intended  to  indicate  the  limits  within  which  the  British 
Government  hoped  that  the  war  might  be  restrained,  or,  at  least, 
the  limits  which,  so  far  as  the  present  circumstances  would  per- 
mit the  formation  of  a  definite  opinion,  would  confine  its  policy  ot 
abstention  and  neutrality. 

The  Russian  Government  replied  to  this  note  May  18th,  express- 
ing an  appreciation  of  the  "  frankness  of  explanations  the  object 
of  which  was  to  clear  up  the  misunderstandings  between  the  two 
Governments,"  and  continuing  with  an  exposition,  "  in  the  same 
frankness  and  with  the  same  clearness,"  of  its  own  views,  both 
upon  the  points  mentioned  by  Lord  Derby,  and  upon  those  which 
touched  the  interests  which  the  Czar  on  his  side  considered  it  his 
duty  to  protect.  On  the  points  named  in  Earl  Derby's  dispatch, 
the  note  said :  "  The  Imperial  Cabinet  will  neither  blockade,  nor 
interrupt,  nor  in  any  way  menace  the  navigation  of  the  Suez  Canal. 
I  consider  the  canal  an  international  work,  important  to  the  com- 
merce of  the  whole  world,  which  should  remain  free  from  every 
attack.  Egypt  is  a  part  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  and  its  contingents 
figure  in  the  Turkish  army.  Russia  might,  therefore,  consider  her- 
self as  at  war  with  Egypt.  Nevertheless,  the  Imperial  Cabinet  does 
not  overlook  either  the  European  interests  engaged  in  the  country, 
or  those  of  England  in  particular.  They  will  not  bring  Egypt 
within  the  radius  of  her  operations.  As  far  as  concerns  Constan- 
tinople, without  being  able  to  prejudge  the  course  or  issue  of  the 
war,  the  Imperial  Cabinet  repeats  that  the  acquisition  of  that  capi- 
tal is  excluded  from  the  views  of  his  Majesty  the  Emperor.  They 
recognize  that  in  any  case  the  future  of  Constantinople  is  a  question 
of  common  interest,  which  can  not  be  settled  otherwise  than  by  a 
general  understanding,  and  that  if  the  possession  of  that  city  were 
to  be  put  in  question,  it  could  not  be  allowed  to  belong  to  any  of 
the  European  powers.  As  regards  the  Straits,  although  their  two 
shores  belong  to  the  same  sovereign,  they  form  the  only  outlet  of 
two  great  seas,  in  v.'hich  all  the  world  has  interests.  It  is,  therefore, 


398  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

important,  in  the  interests  of  peace  and  of  the  general  balance  of 
power,  that  this  question  should  be  settled  by  a  common  agreement 
on  equitable  and  efficiently  guaranteed  bases."  As  to  British  inter- 
ests in  the  Persian  Gulf  and  the  route  to  India,  the  Imperial  Gov- 
ernment declared  that  it  would  not  extend  the  war  further  than  was 
required  by  the  clearly  declared  purpose  for  which  the  Emperor  had 
been  obliged  to  take  up  arms,  and  would  regard  British  interests  so 
long  as  England  should  remain  neutral.  It  expected,  in  turn,  that 
the  English  Government  would  equally  regard  the  interests  which 
Russia  sought  to  promote  in  the  war,  and  for  which  it  was  making 
great  sacrifices ;  which  interests  involved  the  necessity  of  putting 
an  end  to  the  deplorable  condition  of  the  Christians  under  Turkish 
rule,  and  to  the  periodical  crises  which  it  provoked.  This  object 
could  not  be  attained  till  the  Christian  populations  of  Turkey  are 
placed  in  a  situation  in  which  their  existence  and  their  security  shall 
be  effectively  guaranteed  against  the  intolerable  abuses  of  the  Turk- 
ish administration.  This  interest,  vital  for  Russia,  was  in  contradic- 
tion to  none  of  the  interests  of  Europe,  which  suffered,  in  its  turn, 
from  the  precarious  condition  of  the  East.  The  Imperial  Cabinet 
had  desired  to  pursue  its  object  with  the  concurrence  of  the  powers ; 
but,  obliged  to  pursue  it  alone,  his  Imperial  Majesty  was  resolved 
not  to  lay  down  arms  till  he  had  completely,  securely,  effectively 
realized  it. 

On  the  30th  of  April  Mr.  Gladstone  gave  notice  in  the  House  of 
Commons  of  the  introduction  of  five  resolutions  recording  the  dis- 
satisfaction of  the  House  at  the  conduct  of  the  Ottoman  Govern- 
ment regarding  the  dispatch  of  the  British  Government  on  the 
Bulgarian  atrocities ;  declaring  that  until  such  conduct  should  be 
essentially  changed  and  substantial  guarantees  for  future  good 
government  given,  the  Porte  would  have  lost  all  claim  to  the  moral 
and  material  support  of  the  British  Crown ;  advising  that  British 
influence  be  used  to  secure  local  liberties  and  practical  self-govern- 
ment for  the  disturbed  provinces,  so  as  to  secure  them  from  op- 
pression without  imposing  on  them  any  other  foreign  dominion ; 
advising  that  it  should  also  be  addressed  to  promoting  the  concert  of 
the  European  Powers  in  exacting  from  the  Porte,  by  their  united 
authority,  such  changes  as  might  be  effectual  for  the  purposes  of 
humanity,  for  defense  against  intrigue,  and  for  securing  the  peace  of 
Europe ;  and  asking  that  an  address  to  the  crown  embodying  the 
substance  of  the  resolutions  might  be  prepared  and  presented.  The 


QUEEN    VICTORIA. 


GLADSTONE. 


DIPLOMATIC  HISTORY  OF  THE  WAR.  401 

debate  on  4he  resolutions  began  on  the  7th  of  May,  and  was  con- 
tinued during  the  week  till  the  14th,  when  the  first  one  was  rejected 
by  a  vote  of  354  to  223,  after  which  the  others  were  withdrawn. 
Mr.  Gladstone  failed  to  receive  the  full  support  of  his  Liberal  col- 
leagues on  this  occasion,  a  meeting  of  the  Liberal  members  having 
resolved  that  in  view  of  the  overshadowing  importance  of  British 
interests  in  the  East,  it  would  not  be  advisable  to  go  as  far  in  their 
declarations  of  hostility  to  Turkey  as  he  would  have  them.  He 
was,  nevertheless,  supported  by  an  influential  portion  of  the  press, 
and  had  a  large  and  devoted  following  among  the  people.  Among 
others  who  gave  expressions  of  their  sympathy  with  his  views,  was 
the  brilliant  historian  and  pamphleteer,  Thomas  Carlyle,  who  said 
in  a  letter  published  in  the  London  Times : 

"As  to  'British  interests,'  there  is  none  visible  or  conceivable  to 
me,  except  taking  strict  charge  of  our  route  to  India  by  the  Suez 
and  Egypt ;  and,  for  the  rest,  resolutely  steering-  altogether  clear  of 
any  copartnery  with  the  Turk  in  regard  to  this  or  any  other  '  Brit- 
ish interest '  whatever.  It  should  be  felt  by  England  as  a  real 
ignominy  to  be  connected  with  such  a  Turk  at  all.  Nay,  if  we 
still  had,  as,  in  fact,  all  ought  to  have,  a  wish  to  save  him  from  per- 
dition and  annihilation  in  God's  world,  the  one  future  for  him  that 
has  any  hope  in  it  is  even  now  that  of  being  conquered  by  the 
Russians  and  gradually  schooled  and  drilled  into  a  peaceable  attempt 
at  learning  to  be  himself  governed.  The  newspaper  outcry  against 
Russia  is  no  more  respectable  to  me  than  the  howling  of  Bedlam, 
proceeding,  as  it  does,  from  the  deepest  ignorance,  egotism,  and 
paltry  national  jealousy." 

The  British  Mediterranean  squadron  returned  to  Besika  Bay  on 
the  3d  of  July;  after  an  absence  from  that  port  of  about  six  months. 
This  station,  which  has  been  frequently  mentioned  in  connection 
with  the  later  transactions  of  Great  Britain  with  the  Porte,  is  a 
small  bay  in  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor  nearly  opposite  the  island  of 
Tenedos,  and  under  the  plains  of  the  Troad.  It  is  very  near  the 
entrance  to  the  Dardanelles,  and  is  the  nearest  harbor  to  Constanti- 
nople which  an  armed  vessel  can  approach  without  entering  the 
straits  and  thereby  violating  the  Treaty  of  Paris.  The  fleet  had 
been  ordered  to  the  Bay  in  1876,  and  kept  there  for  several  montha 
during  the  hostile  operations  of  the  year,  for  the  purpose,  as  was 
generally  believed  at  the  time,  of  signifying  to  the  Czar  that  he 
would  have  to  count  with  England  in  case  of  any  aggression  upon' 


21 


402  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

the  Sultan's  rights — or,  as  was  stated  by  Earl  Derby  some  time 
afterward,  to  protect  the  Europeans  and  the  native  Christians  of 
Constantinople  in  case  of  any  outbreak  of  Mussulman  fanaticism. 
When  Lord  Salisbury  arrived  at  Constantinople  at  the  time  of  the 
conference,  in  December,  1876,  he  found  that  the  Turks  were  pos- 
sessed with  a  fixed  idea  that,  do  what  they  might,  England 
Would  never  allow  them  to  be  attacked ;  and  the  fleet  was 
withdrawn  at  that  time,  and  transferred  to  the  Piraeus  (the 
harbor  of  Athens)  at  his  request,  not  so  much,  as  it  was  said, 
to  mark  the  displeasure  of  the  British  Government  at  the 
obstinacy  of  the  Turks,  as  to  convey  to  them,  by  unmistakable  signs, 
that  they  had  nothing  to  expect  from  England  in  case  they  should 
be  involved  in  a  war  with  Kussia.  The  return  of  the  fleet  at  this 
time  was  regarded  as  designed  to  convey  an  intimation  to  Russia  that 
England  would  not  quietly  see  it  proceed  too  far  in  its  aggressions. 
Considerable  reinforcements  were  sent  to  the  squadron  during  the 
following  weeks,  while  large  numbers  of  troops  were  concentrated  at 
Malta,  and  the  impression  grew  that  England  was  preparing  to  take 
a  part  in  the  war.  In  the  face  of  these  active  preparations  the 
ministers  declared  in  both  Houses  of  Parliament  that  their  intentions 
were  still  peaceful,  and  stated  that  the  fleet  had  been  ordered  to  re- 
turn to  Besika  Bay  for  convenience  of  communication  with  the 
Government  at  home,  and  the  Ambassador  at  Constantinople,  and  in 
no  way  with  the  intention  of  making  a  menace,  and  that  the  move- 
ments of  troops  had  been  ordered  simply  because  it  had  been  found 
desirable,  in  view  of  the  disturbed  condition  of  Europe,  to  bring  up 
the  garrisons  in  the  Mediterranean  to  their  full  strength.  On  the 
10th  of  August,  just  before  the  prorogation  of  Parliament,  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  declined  to  say  whether  the  Govern- 
ment would  regard  the  temporary  occupation  of  Constantinople  by 
the  Russians  as  so  far  inconsistent  with  British  interests  as  to  dis- 
turb the  friendly  relations  of  Great  Britain  with  Russia.  On  the 
next  day,  in  reply  to  a  request  made  by  Mr.  Fawcett  for  a  pledge 
from  the  Government,  that  if  during  the  recess,  they  felt  it  neces- 
sary to  depart  from  their  attitude  of  neutrality,  they  would  call 
Parliament  together  before  taking  any  decisive  step,  the  Chancellor 
said  that  the  Government  were  fully  aware  of  their  constitutional 
obligations,  and  determined  to  act  up  to  them. 

The  new  session  of  Parliament  for  1878  was  called  to  meet  on  the 
17th  of  January,  three  weeks  before  the  usual  time  of  opening  the 


DIPLOMATIC  HISTORY  OF  THE   WAR. 


403 


session.  Russian  success  had  become  an  established  fact,  and  the 
friends  of  Turkey  were  known  to  be  in  great  anxiety.  Speculation 
was  rife  concerning  the  objects  of  the  Ministry  in  hastening  the  ses- 
sion, and  apprehensions  were  expressed  by  many  members  of  the 
anti-Turkish  party  that  they  would  commit  the  country  to  some  act 
that  would  compromise  it  with  Russia,  and  ask  Parliament,  in  the 
hoat  of  the  temporary  excitement,  to  sanction  it.  The  Queen  stated 
in  her  speech  that,  in  view  of  the  successes  of  the  Russian  arms  in 
Europe  and  Asia,  the  Turkish  Government  had  sought  her  friendly 
offices  in  the  interests  of  peace ;  that  she  had  exercised  them ;  that 
through  them  communications  had  taken  place  between  the  Govern- 
ments of  Russia  and  Turkey,  and  that  a  favorable  conclusion  was 
hoped  for.  Nevertheless,  should  hostilities  unfortunately  be  pro- 
longed, some  unexpected  occurrence  might  render  it  necessary  for 
the  Government  to  adopt  measures  of  precaution,  and  the  liberality 
of  Parliament  was  appealed  to,  to  supply  the  means  which  might  be 
required  for  that  purpose.  The  Ministry  asked  a  supplemental  vote 
of  credit  of  £6,000,000  for  military  and  naval  services.  The  meas- 
ure was  opposed  by  a  fraction  of  the  Liberals,  but  the  rapid  advance 
of  the  Russians  toward  Constantinople  had  had  the  effect  of  consol- 
idating the  public  opinion  of  the  country  in  favor  of  giving  the 
Government  a  firm  support,  and  placing  it  in  a  position  to  assume 
a  vigorous  attitude,  if  necessary,  and  the  vote  was  passed  in  the 
House  of  Commons  on  the  8th  of  February,  by  the  decisive  vote  of 
328  to  124. 

A  Ministerial  Council,  held  at;,  Constantinople  on  the  10th  of 
June,  to  consider  the  case  of  the  Suez  Canal,  decided  not  to  con- 
sider it  as  wholly  neutral,  but  to  reserve  a  full  right  over  this  part 
of  the  territory  of  the  Empire  not  less  than  over  any  other,  and  par- 
ticularly the  right  of  preventing  Russian  ships  from  using  the  arti- 
ficial water-way.  It  agreed,  however,  by  stationing  a  naval  force 
at  the  entrance  of  the  canal,  to  insure  the  freedom  of  navigation, 
and  prevent  the  canal  from  becoming  the  theater  of  any  conflict. 

The  declarations  of  the  Austro-Hungarian  Government  were 
more  reserved  than  those  of  Great  Britain.  It  seemed  to  be  acting 
under  hesitating  councils,  and  to  be  watching  the  course  of  events 
before  deciding  what  position  to  assume.  The  Ministers  made  iden- 
tical replies  *••-»  interpellations  in  both,  the  Chambers  at  Yienna  and 
Pesth,  on  the  4th  of  May,  to  the  effect  that  the  Government  was 
not  tied  by  any  kind  of  engagement,  but  had  reserved  the  fullest 


404 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


freedom,  of  action,  and  that  "Austria-Hungary  maintains  an  atti- 
tude of  benevolent  interest  in  the  Christian  subjects  of  the  Porte, 
and,  while  observing  strict  neutrality,  reserves  the  right  to  protect 
its  own  interests,  or  intervene  with  efforts  for  the  cessation  or  local- 
izing of  the  conflict.  The  Ministers  recognize  the  Empire's  intimate 
connection  with,  and  interest  in,  the  affairs  of  European  Turkey,  but 
deem  a  resort  to  warlike  measures  for  their  protection  unnecessary, 
in  view  of  the  attitude  of  the  other  powers  and  the  cordial  support 
the  Government  can  command  from  the  representatives  of  the 
people  whenever  action  becomes  necessary."  The  Slavic  and  Mag- 
yar populations,  however,  gave  full  expression  to  their  sympathies — 
the  former  for  Russia  and  the  latter  for  Turkey — and  the  Empire 
was  kept  in  a  state  of  agitation  during  the  whole  period  of  the  con- 
tinuance of  hostilities.  The  Magyars  sought,  by  interpellations  in 
the  Chambers,  to  commit  the  Government,  and  by  pamphlets  and 
speeches  to  commit  the  people,  to  an  attitude  of  definite  hostility  to 
Russia.  The  Croats,  on  the  other  hand,  took  advantage  of  a  visit 
of  the  Archduke  Albert  to  Agram,  in  May,  to  make  a  demonstra- 
tion of  sympathy  with  Russia,  and  the  Czechic  National  Party  in 
Bohemia  entered  into  communication  with  the  Pan-Slavists ;  but 
their  enthusiasm  was  unexpectedly  dampened  when  Aksakoff,  the 
Pan-Slavic  leader,  invited  them  to  leave  the  Roman  Catholic  and 
unite  with  the  Greek  Church.  After  this,  the  Archbishop  of 
Prague  forbade  the  clergy  participating  in  the  Slavic  demonstra- 
tions. 

The  influence  of  the  Austrian  Government  upon  the  course  of 
Russia  was  again  perceived  when,  just  after  the  Russian  troops  had 
crossed  the  Danube,  the  Czar  declined  to  accept  the  active  assist- 
ance of  Rumania.  On  the  26th  of  June,  Mr.  Tisza,  President  of 
the  Hungarian  Council,  had  declared  that  the  monarchy  was 
resolved  not  to  tolerate  the  seizure  of  a  neighboring  territory  by  a 
foreign  power,  and  had  answered  attacks  which  had  been  made 
upon  the  Government  by  stating  that  the  army  was  completely 
equipped  and  ready  to  undertake  a  campaign,  and  that  the  Govern- 
ment could,  for  that  reason,  calmly  and  securely  look  events  in  the 
face,  knowing  that  it  was  at  liberty  to  act  according  to  its  judg- 
ment, and  prepared  to  act  as  soon  as  occasion  should  arise.  One 
month  later,  the  fact  was  learned  that  Russia  had  accepted  the  co- 
operation of  the  Rumanian  troops ;  the  introduction  of  a  Russian 
civil  administration  into  Bulgaria  was  held  to  signify  an  intention 


DIPLOMA  TIC  HISTOR  Y  OF  THE   WAR.  405 

to  occupy  the  province  permanently  ;  and  rumors  began  to  prevail 
that  Servia  would  after  all  enter  the  contest.  A  Cabinet  Council 
was  held  at  Yienna,  at  which  the  subjects  of  mobilizing  several 
divisions  of  the  army,  and  of  occupying  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina, 
were  discussed.  No  resolution  was  taken,  but  Count  Andrassy  was 
invested  with  full  powers.  A  few  days  afterward,  the  Emperors  of 
Austria  and  Germany  met  in  consultation  at  Ischl.  The  interview 
was  said  to  have  been  one  of  formalities  and  courtesies,  in  which  a 
few  questions  respecting  the  trade  relations  of  the  two  countries 
were  spoken  of,  but  nothing  of  importance  was  said  concerning  the 
Eastern  Question ;  but  it  was  followed  by  a  marked  change  in  the 
tone  of  the  Austrian  journals — a  sudden  subsidence  of  the  excite- 
ment tinder  which  they  had  discussed  the  events  of  the  day.  The 
time  and  circumstances  of  the  interview,  and  the  quiet  in  Austria 
which  followed  it,  all  gave  color  to  the  impression  which  pre- 
vailed, that  a  concert  existed  between  Austria  and  Germany— an 
impression  which  was  confirmed  by  events  which  happened  later. 
The  semi-official  papers  of  Berlin  and  Yieuna  professed  to  regard 
the  interview  as  a  demonstration  of  the  continued  existence  of  the 
alliance  of  the  three  Emperors. 

Servia  had  just  come  out  from  a  disastrous  war  with  Turkey,  at 
the  conclusion  of  which  it  had  secured  terms  of  peace,  which  were, 
considering  the  relative  situation  of  the  belligerents,  unexampled  in 
their  liberality.  A  sense  of  propriety  and  prudence,  under  these  cir- 
cumstances, should  have  counseled  the  observance  of  a  scrupulous 
neutrality ;  but  the  same  party  which  had  forced  the  principality 
into  a  war  in  1876,  began  its  agitations  as  soon  as  the  Russian  decla- 
ration of  war  was  issued,  to  plunge  it  into  the  new  struggle.  Sim- 
ilar measures  of  pressure  were  brought  to  bear  to  those  which  were 
applied  successfully  in  1876.  Bills  were  posted  on  the  walls  of 
Belgrade  threatening  Prince  Milan  with  dethronement  if  he  did  not 
renew  hostilities.  The  Government  was  forced,  in  view  of  this 
pressure,  as  well  as  by  the  possibility  that  a  contingency  might 
arise  which  would  make  some  action  necessary,  to  adopt  measures 
of  precaution  and  preparation.  Still,  the  Ministers  insisted  that 
their  intention  was  to  preserve  peace.  Servia  was  fortunately  pre- 
vented, by  influences  other  than  those  originating  within  its  own 
borders — influences  which  even  its  war-party  could  not  ignore — 
from  participating  in  the  war  at  this  stage. 

In  the  latter  part  of  May,  the  intention  of  Prince  Milan  was 


406  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

made  known  to  seek  an  interview  with  the  Czar.     The  news  caused 
profound  dissatisfaction  in  the  Cabinet  at  Vienna,  which  objected, 
for  reasons  connected  with  the  internal  peace  of  the  Empire,  to 
Servia  taking  any  part  in  the  war.     The  feelings  of  the  Austrian 
Government  were  promptly  communicated  to  the  Czar  and  Prince 
Milan.     There  were  sufficient  obstacles  of  etiquette  in  the  way  of 
the  Prince's  making  the  proposed  visit  before  the  objections  of 
Austria  were  made  known  ;  these  added  to  them.    In  the  first  place, 
it  was  difficult  for  a  vassal  of  the  Sultan  to  visit  the  armed  enemy 
of  the  latter  without  giving  offense  to  his  suzerain ;  in  the  second 
place,  the  Prince,  who  could  by  no  means  claim  an  equality  or  even 
an  approach  to  it,  in  rank  with  the  Czar,  could  not  visit  him  with- 
out having  first  gained  his  permission,  and  this  proved  not  easily 
obtained.      These  difficulties  were,  however,  removed  by  skillful 
diplomacy,  and  on  the  12th  of  June  the  Servian  Premier  announced 
to  the  agents  of  the  Foreign  Powers  at  Belgrade  that  the  Prince, 
with  three  of  his  generals,  would  visit  the  Czar  at  Ployeshti,  explain- 
ing also  that  his  Highness  had  notified  the  Porte  of  his  intended 
step  in  such  a  way  as  it  was  hoped  would  prevent  any  misunder- 
standing or  irritation.     At  the  same  time  that  the  Prince  received 
permission  to  visit  the  Czar,  the  announcement  was   made   that 
Russia  had  intimated,  far  more  positively  than  it  had  done  before, 
that  it  was  its  will  that  Servia  should  keep  aloof  from  the  war.    The 
visit  of  Milan  was  made  the  means  of  removing  any  doubts  which 
Servia  might  still  have  had  of  what  was  expected  of  it.    The  Prince 
was  received  kindly,  although  the  interview  was  confined,  so  far  as 
the  world  has  learned,  to  formalities,  and  he  returned  to  Servia 
apparently  well  satisfied.     At  the  opening  of  the  Skupstchina,  on 
the  1st  day  of  July,  he  expressed  the  belief  that  the  sacrifices  made 
by  Servia  in  the  war  against  Turkey  had  not  been  in  vain.     When, 
after  consulting  with  the  great  national  Skupstchina,  he  had  con- 
cluded a  peace  with  the  Porte,  he  had  told  his  people  that  the  care 
of  the  Christians  of  the  East  was  now  in  more  vigorous  hands  than 
those  of  Servia,  and  the  war  could  be  interrupted  without  peril  to 
the  cause  which  had  drawn  the  country  into  it.     Events  had  quickly 
confirmed  his  words,  and  the  victorious  standards   of  the   Czar- 
liberator,  at  the  head  of  his  heroic  army,  were  waving  not  far  from 
the  boundary.     During  his  visit  to  Ployeshti,  he  had  received  satis- 
factory assurances  from  the  Czar,  who  had  promised  him  that  he 
would  always  have  a  regard  for  Servian  interests.    The  Skupstchina 


DIPLOMA  TIC  HISTOR  Y  OF  THE  WAR.  407 

should  proceed  with,  the  greatest  caution,  as  the  interests  of  Servia 
would  be  imperilled  by  every  wrong  step. 

New  signs  of  warlike  activity  were  manifested  in  Servia  during 
September.  A  ministerial  council  was  held  during  the  first  week 
of  the  month,  presided  over  by  Prince  Milan,  the  result  of  which 
was  reported  to  be  a  resolution  to  engage  in  the  war.  No  declara- 
tion of  war  was  made  as  yet,  but  renewed  energy  was  exercised  in 
preparation.  An  order  was  issued  by  the  Minister  of  War  on  the 
5th,  commanding  all  militia-men  of  the  first  class  to  be  at  their 
depots  on  the  13th,  while  those  of  the  second  class  should  hold 
themselves  in  readiness  to  march.  This  threatening  attitude  of  the 
principality  called  out  remonstrances  from  the  diplomatic  corps,  the 
English  and  German  agents  pointing  out  that  if  Servia  took  up  arms 
against  the  Porte,  the  guaranteeing  powers  would  be  placed  in  a 
difficult  position,  and  dwelling  with  stress  on  the  gravity  of  the  con- 
sequences which  would  ensue  to  Servia  itself  in  the  event  of  defeat, 
since  the  Turks  would  not  be  inclined  to  treat  its  vassal  with  the 
same  indulgence  as  it  had  exercised  in  1876. 

An  interview  took  place  between  the  Chancellors  of  Austria 
and  Germany,  Count  Andrassy  and  Prince  Bismarck,  at  Salzburg, 
on  the  19th  of  September,  the  character  and  results  of  which  were 
not  made  public.  A  few  days  afterward  the  Austrian  and  Hun- 
garian Premiers  made  important  declarations  in  their  respective 
chambers.  Mr.  Tisza,  in  the  Hungarian  Chamber,  on  the  27th, 
stated  that  there  was  no  reason  to  change  the  policy  of  neu- 
trality, to  which  it  was  due  at  this  time  that  the  interests  of 
the  monarchy  were  not  threatened  in  any  way  by  the  European 
complications.  He  did  not  believe  that  this  policy  was  contrary  to 
the  wishes  of  the  Hungarian  people,  and  he  declared  the  charge 
that  the  neutrality  had  been  observed  in  a  manner  favorable  to 
Russia,  unfounded.  What  the  Government  desired  was  to  protect 
the  interests  of  the  country,  in  a  peaceable  manner  as  long  as  pos- 
sible, but  to  protect  them  at  all  hazards.  If  Servia  should  break 
the  peace,  Austro-Hungary  would  not  prevent  Turkey  from  pro- 
ceeding against  it.  The  triple  alliance  imposed  no  particular  obli- 
gations upon  the  powers  concerned,  either  in  the  Eastern  or  in  any 
other  question.  The  whole  of  this  so-called  alliance  consisted  in> 
this,  that  the  three  Emperors  and  their  Governments  agreed,  in  the 
interest  of  European  peace,  to  come  to  an  understanding  on  any 
question  that  might  arise.  This  understanding  had  prevailed  for 


4o8  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

several  years — since  1873  ;  and  even  at  this  time  the  fact  that  the 
war  had  not  become  a  European  one  must,  in  part  at  least,  be 
attributed  to  the  friendly  relations  of  the  three  powers.  The  fact 
that  one  of  these  three  Governments,  against  the  opinion  of  the  two 
others,  had  begun  a  war,  created  no  obligation  concerning  the 
Eastern  Question  as  regarded  either  of  these  two  other  powers,  and 
none  certainly  as  regarded  the  Austro-Hungarian  Government.  "  On 
our  side,"  M.  Tisza  added,  "  it  has  been  declared  from  the  beginning 
that,  whatever  the  issue  of  the  war  may  be,  nothing  shah1  be  done 
of  which  we  disapprove." 

In  the  latter  part  of  September  a  secret  project  for  helping  the 
Turks  was  discovered  in  Transylvania,  that  part  of  the  Austro- 
Hungariau  monarchy  lying  furthest  east,  and  bordering  on  Rumania. 
Its  object  was  reported  to  be  the  formation  of  a  Hungarian  legion 
of  five  thousand  men,  who  were  to  meet  at  a  certain  point  in  the 
mountains  forming  the  frontier  between  the  two  countries,  with  a 
view  of  making  an  irruption  into  Rumania.  Several  hundred 
stands  of  arms,  with  a  considerable  quantity  of  ammunition  and 
other  articles,  were  seized  in  various  places  close  to  the  Rumanian 
frontier.  Many  arrests  were  made,  and  a  large  number  of  promi- 
nent Hungarians  were  implicated  in  the  affair.  Among  them  was 
General  Klapka,  a  distinguished  participant  in  the  revolution  of 
1848,  who,  however,  denied  all  complicity  in  the  plot,  and  declared 
that  he  would  have  discountenanced  the  formation  of  a  Hungarian 
legion  had  he  known  of  it,  because  he  considered  that  it  would  be 
useless  to  Turkey,  and  could  only  result  in  divisions  among  the 
Hungarians. 

A  note  was  sent  by  the  Turkish  to  the  Servian  Government,  about 
the  beginning  of  October,  demanding  explanations  regarding  its 
purpose  in  arming  and  in  entering  into  negotiations  with  Russia  and 
Rumania,  and  more  particularly  regarding  the  presence  of  the  Rus- 
sian Consul-General  at  Belgrade,  who  had  arrived  there  during 
September.  The  Porte  declared  it  would  be  obliged  to  send  a  spe- 
cial commissioner  to  Belgrade,  to  inquire  whether  its  sovereign 
rights  were  not  being  tampered  with.  In  answer  to  this  note,  M. 
Christitch,  the  Servian  Envoy  at  Constantinople,  on  October  30th 
communicated  a  dispatch  to  the  effect  that  the  attitude  of  Servia 
did  not  justify  the  complaints  of  the  Porte ;  that  its  military 
measures  were  designed  solely  to  protect  its  frontier;  and  that 
Servia  hoped  for  the  maintenance  of  good  relations  with  Turkey. 


DIPLOMATIC  HISTORY  OF  THE  WAR.  409 

Prince  Milan  made  an  address  to  the  troops  in  Belgrade  on  the  2d 
of  December,  in  which  he  thanked  the  army  for  the  exertions  it  had 
made  in  the  war  of  1876,  which  war  had  led  to  the  Turko-Russian 
struggle,  and  would  lead  to  the  liberation  of  the  Christians  in  the 
Turkish  Empire ;  pointed  out  that  the  chance  for  Servia  was  now 
much  better  than  it  had  been  in  the  previous  year,  for  the  country 
was  better  prepared  and  had  the  support  of  a  powerful  ally ;  and 
assured  the  troops  that  he  himself  would  share  in  the  fatigues  of  the 
campaign.  This  speech  removed  all  the  doubts  which  may  have 
previously  existed  as  to  the  intentions  of  the  Government  to  enter 
into  the  war,  and  no  surprise  was  felt  when  the  declaration  of  war 
was  published  on  Dec.  14th. 

In  Greece,  the  Russian  declaration  of  war  called  forth,  on  May 
6th,  an  anti-Turkish  demonstration.  A  number  of  students,  num- 
bering from  1,500  to  2,000,  proceeded  to  the  house  of  the  Prime 
Minister,  calling  for  an  immediate  declaration  of  war.  The  minister 
answered  that  circumstances  did  not  make  war  necessary,  and  recom- 
mended calmness  and  prudence.  A  similar  demonstration  occurred 
on  May  28th,  when  a  crowd,  estimated  at  from  5,000  to  10,000  per- 
sons, filled  the  square  before  the  palace  and  demanded  from  the  king 
strong  and  warlike  measures.  The  crowd,  however,  soon  dispersed 
when  the  king  told  them  that  he  still  had  the  welfare  of  the  nation 
at  heart.  These  popular  demonstrations  found  a  response  when  the 
chamber  assembled  on  May  26th.  The  ministry  under  Deligeorgis 
was  forced  to  resign,  and  several  new  cabinets  were  formed  success- 
ively, to  fall  to  pieces  almost  immediately,  until  finally  a  coalition 
ministry  was  organized  under  Admiral  Canaris,  one  of  the  revolu- 
tionary heroes  of  Greece.  The  appointment  of  this  ministry  was 
received  with  mistrust  in  Constantinople,  so  that  Savfet  Pasha,  the 
Turkish  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  thought  it  advisable  to  question 
the  Greek  Ambassador  with  regard  to  the  intentions  of  the  new  cabi- 
net. The  Ambassador,  denying  all  hostile  intentions,  assured  the 
Porte  that  the  armaments  undertaken  by  Greece  were  for  defensive 
purposes  only.  With  regard  to  the  fear  entertained  by  the  Porte, 
that  Greece  would  favor  a  rising  in  Thessaly,  he  declared  that  his 
Government  would  under  all  circumstances  act  openly,  and  should  it 
decide  upon  war,  it  would  be  an  open  war.  The  new  ministry  never- 
theless actively  pushed  forward  the  completion  of  the  armaments. 
The  standing  army  was  filled  up  to  its  full  complement  of  27,000, 
and  was  stationed  in  four  large  fortified  camps.  At  the  same  time 


4io  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

bodies  of  volunteers  were  formed,  which  contained,  besides  native 
Greeks,  a  large  number  of  Greek  subjects  of  Turkey. 

A  difficulty  arose  in  the  latter  part  of  June  which  threatened,  for 
a  time,  to  bring  Greece  and  Turkey  into  actual  collision.  The  Greek 
Government,  on  the  28th  of  the  month,  seized  a  quantity  of  ammuni- 
tion at  Corfu  while  it  was  on  board  an  Austro-Hungarian  steamer  in 
transit  to  Turkey.  The  Austrian  Government  promptly  protested 
against  the  proceeding;  the  Turkish  Government  also  protest sd,  and 
threatened  to  send  a  vessel  to  Corfu  to  demand  a  return  of  the  arms. 
The  Greek  Government  endeavored  to  explain  its  action  by  profess- 
ing that  it  had  been  taken  to  defend  the  neutrality  of  the  island,  but 
was  not  able  to  maintain  its  position.  The  trouble  was  finally  ad- 
justed by  shipping  the  ammunition  on  board  a  neutral  vessel  to 
Trieste,  to  be  detained  there  till  the  end  of  the  war.  In  the  begin- 
ning of  July  a  proclamation  of  the  Central  Revolutionary  Committee 
of  Athens  was  circulated  in  Epirus  and  Thessaly,  calling  upon  the 
Greeks  to  rise  for  independence,  and  assuring  them  of  the  help  of 
"  80,000  warriors  "  from  Greece  itself.  The  fruits  of  this  appeal  ap- 
peared later  in  the  war  when  the  provinces  in  which  it  was  circulated 
actually  revolted,  and  induced  the  kingdom  of  Greece  to  a  step  which 
came  near  involving  it  in  serious  embarrassments.  On  the  12th  of 
September,  the  Greek  Government,  having  been  called  upon  by 
Earl  Derby,  at  the  request  of  the  Porte,  to  give  a  pledge  that  it 
would  not  make  war  against  Turkey,  replied  that  it  would  not  re- 
nounce its  privileges  as  an  independent  State  by  making  such  a 
pledge,  and  that  the  condition  and  danger  of  Hellenism  in  Turkey 
rendered  it  now  more  than  ever  necessary  that  the  nation  should 
have  that  liberty  of  action  which  was  essential  to  independence. 

The  hostile  attitude  of  Greece  caused  Server  Pasha,  the  Turkish 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  to  send  a  note,  in  the  beginning  of  Octo- 
ber, to  the  Turkish  Ambassador  in  London.  This  note  was  submit- 
ted to  Lord  Derby,  who  acquainted  the  Greek  Government  with  its 
contents,  adding  that  Greece  would  do  better  to  turn  her  attention  to 
her  internal  development,  and  to  the  removal  of  the  financial  diffi- 
culties under  which  she  was  laboring.  The  Turkish  note  formulated 
five  complaints.  First,  that  the  warlike  preparations  made  for  some 
months  past  by  the  Greek  Government,  and  the  dispatch  of  numer- 
ous detachments  of  troops  to  the  camps  along  the  frontier,  are  cal- 
culated to  disturb  the  friendly  relations  between  Turkey  and  Greece. 
Secondly,  the  enlistment  of  numerous  Greek  volunteers  in  Turkey, 


DIPLOMATIC  HISTORY  OF  THE   WAR.  4II 

openly  carried  on  by  agents,  adds  to  the  difficulties  of  the  Imperial 
Government.  Thirdly,  ever  since  the  beginning  of  the  present  war, 
the  Greek  press,  which  claims  to  represent  the  views  of  the  Govern- 
ment, has  preached  a  crusade  against  Turkey,  which  was  not  only 
tolerated,  but  apparently  inspired  by  the  Greek  Government.  Fourth, 
revolutionary  committees  existing  for  years  in  Greece,  have  now 
organized  agencies  in  the  Turkish  provinces.  These  committees 
show  the  greatest  activity  in  the  frontier  districts,  and  are  plainly 
patronized  by  the  Greek  Government.  Fifth,  the  revolutionary  agi- 
tation of  the  committees  not  seeming  sufficient,  armed  bands  are 
organized  in  Greece  and  thrown  into  Epirus  and  Thessaly,  without 
in  the  least  being  prevented  by  the  Hellenic  authorities.  In  answer 
to  this  note,  M.  Tricoupi  sent  a  note  to  the  Greek  Charge  d' Affaires 
in  London,  contesting  the  accuracy  of  these  statements  and  making 
Turkey  alone  responsible  for  all.  "  If  Turkey,"  the  note  said,  "  has 
any  cause  of  complaint,  she  ought  not  to  address  herself  to  England, 
but  directly  to  Greece." 

The  popular  excitement  in  favor  of  war  continued  to  increase  as 
the  progress  of  the  Russian  arms  became  more  decided,  but  the  Gov- 
ernment maintained  a  practical  neutrality  till,  almost  simultaneously 
with  the  conclusion  of  the  armistice,  it  was  induced  to  send  its  troops 
across  the  border,  only  to  repent  of  its  action  immediately,  and  re- 
trace its  ill-considered  step  at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 

During  the  month  of  July,  the  Russians  closed  the  Sulina  mouth 
of  the  Danube  by  sinking  vessels  and  then  throwing  rocks  and  sand 
on  them,  thus  making  the  Sulina  channel  impassable  for  large  vessels. 
This  course  produced  considerable  dissatisfaction,  particularly  in 
England.  This  caused  Prince  Gortchakoff  to  issue  a  special  note 
early  in  August,  in  which  he  promised  that  all  obstructions  placed  in 
the  river  would  be  removed  at  the  close  of  the  war.  With  regard 
to  the  British  complaints,  he  said  that  after  the  Czar  had  promised 
not  to  attack  Egypt,  he  might  have  assumed  that  the  British  Gov- 
ernment would  do  their  utmost  to  prevent  the  Khedive  from  partici- 
pating in  the  war.  In  the  recent  fighting  in  the  Balkans,  however, 
the  Russians  had  found  themselves  opposed  to  Egyptian  troops.  If 
England,  therefore,  did  not  desire  to  see  its  Egyptian  interests  im- 
perilled, it  should  use  its  influence  with  the  Khedive  to  restrain  him 
from  steps  which  Russia  might  be  forced  to  resent. 

The  murder  of  the  French  and  German  Consuls  at  Salonica,  in 
18T6,  led  to  a  joint  action  of  the  French  and  German  Governments 


4I2  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

in  September,  1877.  Strange  to  say,  the  men  concerned  in  the 
assassination  of  the  Consuls,  who,  upon  the  representations  of  the 
two  powers,  had  been  sentenced  to  imprisonment,  were  suddenly  re- 
leased after  having  served  a  little  over  half  a  year.  This  led  to 
notes  of  remonstrance  from  the  two  powers  as  stated.  But  before 
these  notes  were  delivered,  the  Porte  had  sent  orders  to  Salonica 
that  the  men  should  be  put  back  into  prison.  Their  release  furnished 
a  curious  specimen  of  the  fashion  in  which  a  Turkish  official  occa- 
sionally understands  his  duty.  The  prisoners,  who  had  been  kept  at 
Widin,  had  to  be  removed,  and  at  the  time  of  the  bombardment, 
were  taken  back  to  Salonica,  where  the  Governor,  on  the  plea  that 
he  had  not  been  told  what  he  was  to  do  with  them,  first  set  them 
free,  and  then  telegraphed  for  instructions.  It  perhaps  never 
occurred  to  him  that  it  might  be  as  well  to  telegraph  to  his  Govern- 
ment before  taking  steps  which  would  scarcely  be  very  palatable  to 
Germany  and  France,  and  was  certainly  not  consistent  with  the 
usual  course  of  justice. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

INNER   HISTORY   OF  TURKEY   DURING  THE   WAR. 

The  Feeling  at  Constantinople  at  the  Beginning  of  the  "War— Discontent  over  the  Man- 
agement of  Affairs  by  the  Government — The  Holy  War  and  the  Flag  of  the  Prophet 
—The  Turkish  Parliament— Ministerial  Changes— The  Sultan  still  talking  of  Reforms 
— Rise  and  Growth  of  the  Party  of  Peace — The  Second  Session  of  Parliament — The 
Government  Censured — Boldness  and  Independence  of  the  Deputies — The  Sultan 
Dissolves  the  Chamber  with  Signs  of  Displeasure — Further  Ministerial  Changes — 
How  the  Porte  Supported  the  War. 

IT  was  clear  from,  the  very  beginning  of  the  war  that  the  Porte 
would  have  to  make  use  of  all  its  resources  in  order  to  carry  it  on 
successfully.  The  opinion  which  had  gained  some  currency  abroad, 
that  the  Christians  at  the  capital  would  either  favor  the  Russian 
attack,  or  would  affect  neutrality,  or  at  most  give  the  Government 
only  a  half-hearted  support,  were  not  confirmed ;  and  the  declara- 
tion of  war  produced  an  apparent  unity  of  sentiment  among  all 
classes  of  the  population  of  Constantinople,  of  whatever  religion,  in 
favor  of  maintaining  the  integrity  of  the  Empire  to  the  last.  In  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies,  several  Christian  members  protested  against 
the  pretext  put  forward  by  Russia,  that  it  had  declared  war  for  the 
protection  of  the  Christian  population  of  the  Empire,  and  are  said  to 
have  averred  that  they  did  not  desire  the  protection  of  Russia,  and 
that  the  Christian  subjects  of  the  Sultan  were  ready  to  take  part  iu 
the  defense  of  the  country.  The  Greek  Patriarch  provided  a  form 
of  prayer  to  be  used  in  the  churches  for  the  Sultan  and  for  the  suc- 
cess of  his  Majesty's  arms  in  the  war ;  and  the  Armenian  Patriarchs 
gave  his  Majesty  assurances  of  their  sympathy  and  the  support  of 
their  people.  A  decree  was  issued  in  May  making  the  Christian 
population  liable  to  the  conscription  equally  with  others  who  had 
been  long  held  to  service  in  the  army,  and  was  received  by  the 
Christians  without  any  signs  of  dissatisfaction.  The  duty  and 
privilege  of  serving  in  the  army  were  extended  not  only  to  the 
Christians.  The  non-Mussulman  youth  of  the  capital,  who  had  from 
ancient  times  enjoyed  exemption  from  military  duty,  were  also 
brought  under  liability,  and  other  measures  were  adopted  showing 

(413) 


414  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

a  design  to  render  the  whole  manhood  of  the  country  available,  if 
necessary,  for  its  defense.  A  measure  was  sanctioned  for  the  issue 
of  a  forced  loan  of  five  million  Turkish  pounds,  and  an  effort  was 
made  to  raise  an  additional  loan  in  England. 

It  was  foreseen  in  the  Cabinet  of  the  Sultan  that  the  war  might 
probably  result  in  a  conflict  that  would  involve  the  very  existence  of 
the  Empire  and  of  Mussulman  rule,  and  that  it  was,  therefore, 
important  to  appeal  to  the  piety  of  the  believers,  and  to  excite  their 
devotion,  by  impressing  them  that  their  faith  was  at  stake,  and  by 
surrounding  the  cause  with  all  the  prestige  it  could  command  ;  yet  it 
would  not  be  well  to  arouse  their  religious  zeal  to  too  great  an  extent 
lest  conflicts  be  produced  between  the  Mussulman  and  the  Christian 
population,  and  embarrassments  engendered  with  the  other  Christian 
powers. 

On  the  25th  of  April,  or  the  day  after  the  declaration  of  war,  the 
Sultan  addressed  the  Turkish  army,  saying :  "  The  fatherland  is  in 
danger.  It  is  my  duty  to  take  in  my  hand  the  banner  of  the  Caliph- 
ate and  go  into  the  midst  of  my  soldiers — to  sacrifice,  if  necessary, 
my  life  for  the  independence  of  the  Empire  and  the  honor  and  life 
of  our  women  and  children." 

The  important  question  was  submitted  to  the  Sheik-ul-Islam,  the 
Mohammedan  high-priest,  whose  decisions  on  Mohammedan  law  are 
final,  whether  a  Holy  war  should  be  declared.  A  Jehad,  or  Holy 
war,  is  a  momentous  affair  for  a  Mussulman,  and  involves  the 
gravest  duties.  It  is  declared  against  a  nation  which  is  an  enemy  of 
Islam,  and  sometimes  against  a  prince  who  issues  a  decree  directly 
contradicting  the  statutes  of  the  Koran.  It  may  be  declared  if  the 
smallest  precept  of  the  Koran  is  in  danger.  When  it  is  declared,  it 
becomes  a  religious  point  of  honor  with  the  Mohammedan  to  ap- 
prove himself  as  an  Islamite,  with  arms  in  his  hand ;  the  Prince 
must  place  himself  at  the  head  of  the  faithful  and  lead  them ;  all 
the  faithful  who  are  over  thirteen  years  of  age  must  take  the  sword 
and  go  to  battle,  while  those  who  are  not  able  to  go  must  perform  the 
work  for  their  brethren  in  the  field,  and  support  them  ;  and  the 
leader  of  the  fighting  faithful  may  appropriate  all  the  property  of 
the  nation,  even  that  belonging  to  the  mosques,  to  the  prosecution 
of  the  war.  As  a  reward  for  their  participation,  the  faithful  who 
engage  in  the  Holy  war,  may  take  and  keep  whatever  valuables 
they  may  find  in  the  land  of  the  enemy,  and  those  among  them 
who  fall  in  battle  are  promised  an  immediate  entrance  into  Paradise 


HISTORY  OF  TURKEY  DURING  THE  WAR.  415 

as  Jehid,  or  martyrs.  If  they  return  victorious,  they  bear  the  title 
of  Ghazi,  or  victors,  while  their  sons  may  call  themselves  Ghazi 
Zade,  or  the  sons  of  the  victors,  and  they  have  a  right  to  demand  a 
pension  from  the  State.  According  to  the  original  idea,  the  Jehad, 
when  once  declared,  must  not  cease  till  the  enemy  is  wholly  over- 
thrown, or,  if  he  is  an  unbeliever,  is  converted  to  Islam,  although 
a  brief  armistice  was  tolerated.  The  numerous  treaties  which  Tur- 
key has  been  obliged  to  make  with  Christian  States  have,  however, 
made  this  regulation  a  dead  letter.  The  question  concerning  the 
Holy  war  was  submitted,  and  the  answer  was  returned  in  the  follow- 
ing form : 

"  Question:  If,  after  the  Commander  of  the  Faithful — whose 
Caliphate  may  God  prolong  to  the  day  of  the  judgment — has  conclud- 
ed a  solemn  treaty  with  the  ruler  of  an  unbelieving  country,  the  Sover- 
eign of  such  country  makes  unendurable  and  unacceptable  demands 
which  lessen  the  glory  of  Islam  and  degrade  the  Mohammedan 
nation,  and,  in  order  to  impose  these  demands  upon  Mussulmans,  in- 
sultingly makes  preparations  for  war,  transgresses  the  boundaries  of 
Mohammedan  States  and  devastates  the  same,  and  thus  breaks  the 
solemn  treaty :  in  such  a  case,  as  soon  as  it  is  plain  that  the  Mussul- 
mans possess  the  necessary  strength  and  resources  for  the  contest, 
and  that  the  contest  on  behalf  of  the  Faith  is  meritorious,  is  it  the 
duty  of  the  Protector  of  the  Faith,  the  Sultan  of  the  Mussulmans — 
to  whom  may  the  Almighty  God  grant  victory — to  send  the  con- 
quering troops  of  Islam  against  that  country,  and,  in  confidence  in 
God  the  Supreme  Ruler,  to  undertake  the  War  of  Faith  for  the 
glory  of  Islam  against  the  said  country  and  people  ?  It  is  an  answer 
that  is  sought. 

"  Answer :   Yes,  God  knows  that  it  is  so. 

"  Thus  writes  the  poor  Hassan  Kairullah,  unto  whom  may  God 
be  merciful ! " 

Assurances  were  published  that  the  declaration  of  the  Holy  war 
was  not  aimed  against  the  Christian  subjects  of  the  Porte,  but  only 
against  the  common  enemy  of  all  Turks,  the  Russians.  In  the  lat- 
ter part  of  July,  the  powers. having  made  remonstrances  against  the 
adoption  of  measures  likely  to  excite  the  Mussulmans  against  the 
Christians,  a  charge  by  the  Sheik-ul- Islam  was  read  in  the  mosques 
recommending  calmness  and  resignation,  and  the  avoidance  of  all  acts 
of  hostility  toward  Christians.  At  about  the  same  time  that  the  ques- 
tion concerning  the  Holy  war  was  submitted  to  him,  the  Sheik-ul- 


416  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Islam  was  asked  whether  the  Sultan  could  at  that  stage  of  the  war 
assume  the  title  of  Ghazi,  or  conqueror.  He  replied  that  it  would 
be  better  to  wait  till  the  war  was  closed,  and  the  unbelievers  were 
fully  vanquished.  A  state  of  siege  was  proclaimed  shortly  afterward. 

The  question  of  raising  the  banner  of  the  Caliphate  was  again 
raised  in  July,  and  the  fact  brought  out  a  remonstrance  from  the 
powers  against  the  adoption  of  measures  which  would  further  in- 
flame the  fanaticism  of  the  Mussulmans,  and  increase  the  danger  of 
the  powers  having  to  interfere  to  prevent  an  indiscriminate  war 
upon  Christians.  This  banner,  the  flag  of  the  Prophet,  is  one  of 
the  most  sacred  objects  to  the  Moslem,  and  the  unfurling  of  it  is  the 
most  solemn  and  the  final  act  of  instituting  the  Holy  war.  It  is  also 
called  "  the  Heavenly  Standard,"  and  in  the  Turkish  language 
Bairak.  Its  color  is  green,  and  it  is  believed  to  have  been  the  ban- 
ner of  the  Prophet  Mohammed,  delivered  to  him  by  the  angel 
Gabriel,  through  the  medium  of  Ayesha,  as  an  indubitable  token  of 
victory  over  their  enemies.  It  was  formerly  laid  up  in  the  Treasury 
of  the  Sultan  of  Constantinople,  but  is  now  kept  in  the  mosque 
at  Eycob,  where  the  new  Sultans  on  the  day  of  their  coronation  gird 
on  the  sabre  of  the  Caliphate.  In  case  of  any  serious  struggle,  a  relig- 
ious duty  compels  the  Sultan  to  give  orders  to  the  "  Mollahs,"  or 
Mohammedan  clergy,  to  display  the  Prophet's  standard  before  the 
people  and  army,  and  proclaim  "  Al-Jehad,"  or  the  Holy  war,  by 
exhorting  the  Moslems  to  be  faithful  to  their  religion  and  defend 
their  kingdom.  "  This  is  the  Prophet's  banner,"  the  Sheik-ul-Islam 
exclaims ;  "  this  is  the  standard  of  the  Caliphate ;  it  is  set  up  before 
you  and  displayed  over  your  heads,  olv  time  believers,  to  announce 
to  you  that  your  religion  is  threatened,  your  Caliphate  in  danger, 
and  your  life,  wives,  children,  and  property  exposed  to  be  the  prey 
of  your  cruel  enemies !  Any  Moslem,  therefore,  who  refuses  to  take 
his  arms  and  follow  this  holy  Bairak  is  an  infidel,  and  must,  there- 
fore, suffer  condemnation." 

It  has  always  been  held  in  extreme  respect,  and  the  unfurling  of 
it  has  been  efficient  to  settle  all  questions  as  t  >  the  duty  of  obe- 
dience, except  in  one  instance,  happening  in  1658,  when  an  insur- 
rectionary chieftain  turned  his  back  to  it,  and  continued  his  resist- 
ance. It  has  been  shown  many  times  that  the  so-called  flag  of  the 
Prophet  was  not  the  genuine  flag  used  by  Mohammed,  which  was 
black,  but  without  disturbing  the  faith  of  the  Mussulmans  in  its 
sanctity.  The  most  generally  accepted  account  of  the  origin  of  this 


HISTORY  OF  TURKEY  DURING  THE  WAR. 


417 


particular  flag  is  that  wheii  the  Prophet  was  dying,  Ayesha,  his  fa- 
vorite wife,  tore  down  the  green  purdah  from  the  door  of  the  death 
chamber,  and,  giving  it  to  the  assembled  chiefs,  bade  them  make  it 
the  flag  of  future  victory.  The  Moslems,  therefore,  call  this  green 
banner  "  Bairak-un-nabi,"  as  being  used  as  the  standard  of  the  king- 
dom and  the  religion  of  Mohammed. 

Discontent  arose  early  in  Parliament  and  among  the  people  over 
the  inefficiency  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Government,  which  reached 
a  culmination  after  the  capture  of  Ardahan,  in  Armenia.  It  was 
generally  understood  that  the  Sultan,  as  is  nearly  always  the  case  at 
the  Turkish  court,  was  governed  by  a  small  faction  of  adherents 
who  were  styled  the  Palace  clique,  and  who  looked  upon  all  meas- 
ures that  were  proposed  more  with  an  eye  to  their  personal  designs 
and  their  advancement,  than  to  the  good  of  the  country.  The 
Chambers  were  brought  into  frequent  conflict  with  Red  if  Pasha, 
the  Minister  of  War,  and  Mahmoud  Damad,  the  Sultan's  brother-in- 
law,  who  was  considered  the  real  controller  of  the  councils  of  the 
Government.  Even  before  actual  hostilities  began,  the  tardiness 
of  the  Serdar  Ekrem  in  going  to  the  seat  of  war,  became  the  sub- 
ject of  remark  and  comment  in  the  Assembly,  and  opportunities  for 
animadversion  arose  often  enough  afterward,  and  were  not  lost. 
Complaints  from  the  army  reaching  the  members  of  the  Assembly, 
gave  them  excuses  for  exposing  mismanagement  and  incapacity, 
and  the  system  of  favoritism  and  nepotism  which  continued  to  flour- 
ish. The  Chambers  were  visited  on  the  25th  of  May  by  a  deputa- 
tion of  Softas,  or  theological  students  in  the  mosques,  making  de- 
mands for  changes  in  the  administration  and  the  methods  of  carry- 
ing on  the  Government.  The  opportunity  was  embraced  by  some  of 
the  deputies  to  make  direct  attacks  upon  the  Seraskier,  Redif  Pasha, 
as  Minister  of  War,  and  to  speak  plainly  of  the  incapacity  of  the 
Cabinet,  asking  that  men  of  well-known  and  approved  capacity 
should  be  elevated  to  power.  These  demonstrations  and  expressions 
were  understood  at  the  time  to  be  made  in  contemplation  of  the 
recall  of  Midhat  Pasha,  and  it  was  believed  that  this  minister  was 
actually  about  to  be  reinstated  in  his  former  position.  If  the  Sultan 
ever  had  such  an  intention,  it  was  defeated  by  the  machinations  of 
Midhat's  enemies,  who  had  the  ear  of  his  Majesty  through  Mah- 
moud Damad,  and  retained  their  influence  over  him  throughout  the- 
war.  A  few  days  after  the  visit  of  the  Softas  to  the  Chambers,,  the 
Government  announced  the  discovery  of  a  conspiracy  which  aimed  at 


41 8  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

the  deposition  of  the  Sultan  and  the  removal  of  the  whole  reigning 
dynasty.  Several  of  the  Softas  who  had  participated  in  the  demon- 
stration were  arrested,  and  five  of  them  were  banished.  At  the 
beginning  of  July,  Redif  Pasha  was  ordered  to  join  the  Commander- 
in-chief  at  Shumla,  ostensibly  to  inquire  into  the  causes  of  the  inac- 
tivity of  the  army,  but  really,  it  was  currently  thought,  to  get  him 
away  from  the  capital.  At  about  the  same  time  the  ministers  were 
ordered  to  sleep  in  Stamboul,  so  as  to  be  able  to  meet  together  in 
council,  should  an  emergency  arise. 

The  Parliament,  having  fulfilled  its  constitutional  duty  of  being 
in  session  for  three  months,  was  adjourned,  by  order  of  the  Sultan, 
on  the  28th  of  June.  It  had  not  accomplished  much,  although  it 
had  perhaps  done  all  that  could  have  been  expected  of  a  body  so 
novel  to  the  country  and  to  its  theory  of  government,  but  it  had 
shown  vigor  and  activity  in  discussion,  and  a  public  spirit  and  bold- 
ness in  the  expression  of  opinions,  that  were  decidedly  creditable  to  it 
as  a  body  and  to  its  members.  A  correspondent  of  the  ]STew  York 
Tribune,  writing  from  its  sessions,  thus  describes  its  distinctive 
traits : 

"  The  Assembly  is  doing  much  more  in  the  way  of  independent 
discussion  than  was  expected,  but  the  division  between  Moslems  and 
Christians  is  probably  going  to  prevent  any  serious  advantage  aris- 
ing from  the  institution  of  Parliament.  Nevertheless,  it  is  pleasant 
to  find  men  who  can  stand  up  in  the  Assembly  and  tell  the  Govern- 
ment that  its  law  of  the  press  may  more  fitly  be  entitled  a  penal 
code,  and  who  can  rally  about  them  a  majority  sufficient  to  vote 
down  the  obnoxious  clauses  of  the  law,  one  after  the  other.  It  is 
pleasant,  also,  in  this  country,  where  so  long  a  silence  has  been  en- 
forced, to  see  a  man  get  up  and  face  the  Finance  Minister  in  the 
Assembly,  and  charge  home  upon  his  employes  corruption,  and 
carry  the  whole  Assembly  with  him  in  the  charge ;  or  to  see  an- 
other man  oppose  the  greed  and  selfishness  of  the  Pashas,  who  call 
upon  the  people  to  support  the  treasury  in  this  war  crisis,  and  give 
nothing  from  their  own  luxury." 

The  correspondent  likened  the  appearance  of  the  Assembly  to 
that  of  a  school-room,  with  straight  rows  of  desks  and  benches, 
"  exactly  modeled  after  the  American  school  desks  of  fifteen  years 
ago,"  running  across  the  room,  while  the  members  were  so  like 
school  boys  under  the  rule  of  the  teacher,  who  sat  upon  the  platform 
in  the  front,  that  there  seemed  nothing  incongruous  in  the  arrange- 


HISTORY  OF  TURKEY  DURING  THE  WAR.  419 

merit.  The  President  exercised  his  functions  with  decision  and 
tenacity,  so  that  it  required  great  nerve  to  insist  on  the  yeas  and 
nays  after  he  had  said  that  a  measure  had  been  adopted  by  the 
House.  "  And  even  after  a  hard-fought  battle  and  victory,  the 
President  is  sure  to  bring  up  the  defeated  bill  again,  with  the  re- 
mark that  the  Ministry  have  made  explanations  in  committee,  and 
the  committee  has  now  a  report  to  make,  the  result  being  that  the 
bill  is  reported  upon  favorably  by  the  committee  and  adopted  with- 
out a  ballot,  before  any  slow-moving  intellect  has  risen  to  the  height 
of  calling  for  the  yeas  and  nays  again." 

The  excitement  and  dissatisfaction  at  Constantinople  were  still 
further  increased  after  the  passage  of  the  Balkans  by  Gen.  Gourko, 
and  both  the  Commander-in-chief  and  the  Ministry  fell  victims  to 
the  general  discontent.  Savfet  Pasha  was  replaced  as  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs  by  Aarifi  Pasha,  and  Mahmoud  Damad  became 
Minister  of  War,  in  place  of  Redif  Pasha.  The  same  "Palace 
clique"  remained  in  power,  but  with  a  new  face  turned  toward  the 
public.  The  newspapers  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  enemy 
were  at  the  gates  of  Constantinople,  and  urged  the  inhabitants  to 
constitute  volunteer  battalions ;  and  the  works  on  the  fortifications 
were  carried  on  with  great  activity.  Ten  days  later,  Aarifi  Pasha 
retired  from  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Server  Pasha.  The  recall  of  Midhat  Pasha  was  still  talked  of,  but 
Mahmoud  Damad,  who  ruled  the  Court,  would  not  permit  his  rival 
to  return. 

Early  in  August,  the  Porte  conveyed  an  intimation  to  the 
powers,  through  a  confidential  interview  between  the  President  of 
the  Council  of  State  with  Count  Zichy,  the  Austrian  Ambassador, 
that  "  the  Ottoman  Government,  in  spite  of  late  successes  in  arms, 
was  firmly  convinced  that  the  war  was  really  a  misfortune  for  the 
whole  world,  that  it  would  lead  to  no  real  result  on  either  side,  and 
that  the  Sultan  would  be  happy  to  see  it  end  in  a  peace  honorable 
to  both  belligerents.  If  Russia  only  demanded  autonomy  for  Bul- 
garia under  several  Christian  governors,  the  Porte  would  agree  to 
make  peace."  A  very  guarded  intimation  had  been  made  shortly 
before  by  the  Russian  journal  Golos,  that  Russia  was  ready  to  enter 
into  negotiations  for  peace,  and  that  the  terms  of  Russia  would  not 
be  found  oppressive ;  yet  no  steps  seem  to  have  been  made  to  bring 
the  parties  together,  and  the  war  was  allowed  to  go  on.  During 
August,  a  new  loan  for  £5,000,000  nominal  was  put  upon  the  mar- 


420 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


ket,  the  mobilization  of  the  landsturm  in  Rumelia  and  Anatolia 
was  ordered,  for  which  all  the  population  should  be  enrolled,  with 
the  intention  of  forming  a  camp  of  70,000  men  for  the  defense  of 
the  capital,  and  a  new  forced  loan  was  commanded.  Near  the  close 
of  the  month,  Mahmoud  Damad  was  removed  from  the  office  of 
Minister  of  War,  because  he  was  supposed  to  be  responsible,  by 
having  ordered  the  movement  which  led  to  it,  for  the  reckless  sacri- 
fice of  life  in  the  attempt  of  Suleiman  Pasha  to  recover  the  Shipka 
Pass.  He  was  succeeded  by  Mustapha  Pasha,  and  Savfet  Pasha 
was  appointed  Minister  of  Justice  in  place  of  Hassim  Pasha,  who 
was  nominated  President  of  the  Senate. 

On  the  5th  of  October,  the  Sultan,  on  the  occasion  of  his  cere- 
monial visit  to  the  mosque,  reviewed  a  body  of  the  local  militia, 
and  made  an  address  to  them,  in  which  he  expressed  the  hope  that 
after  the  conclusion  of  a  glorious  peace  they  would  show  the  same 
aptitude  and  zeal  that  they  had  exhibited  in  devotion  to  the  defense 
of  the  country,  in  assisting  him  "to  carry  through  the  reforms  on 
which  the  prosperity  of  the  country  and  the  welfare  of  the  people 
depend."  This  was  favorably  received,  as  an  assurance  that  the 
Sultan  had  still  at  heart  the  reforms  in  which  he  had  embarked 
when  he  was  interrupted  by  the  war.  A  few  days  afterward,  the 
Sultan  received  two  members  of  the  British  Parliament,  when  he 
expressed  himself  extremely  desirous  of  carrying  out  the  reforms 
and  improvements  he  had  begun,  but  regretted  that  he  had  preju- 
dices of  long  standing  to  deal  with,  and  that  it  was  impossible, 
without  danger,  to  proceed  otherwise  than  gradually ;  but  he  was 
fully  resolved  to  form  a  basis  for  further  reforms.  He  was  specially 
anxious  for  such  measures  as  would  insure  the  equality  of  all  his 
subjects.  The  Parliament  would,  of  course,  require  time  to  develop 
itself,  and  to  show  real,  practical  results ;  but,  nevertheless,  he  felt 
quite  sure  that  the  freedom  of  discussion  permitted  to  the  members, 
and  the  publication  of  their  speeches  and  of  the  measures  they 
passed,  would  gradually  accustom  the  people  to  take  a  more  active 
interest  than  now  in  the  affairs  of  the  Empire.  He  hoped  that, 
eventually,  the  laws  would  be  firmly  administered,  and  the  promised 
reforms  resolutely  carried  out. 

Reports  of  the  existence  of  a  peace  party  at  Constantinople, 
strong  enough  to  attract  attention,  and  of  the  existence  of  political 
conspiracy,  seeking  the  restoration  of  Murad  as  Sultan,  were  fol- 
lowed in  November  by  notices  of  the  meeting  of  Ministerial  Coun- 


HISTORY  OF  TURKEY  DURING  THE  WAR. 


421 


cils,  at  which  the  determination  to  continue  the  war  seemed  as 
strong  as  ever.  After  the  fall  of  Kars,  Mahmoud  Dam  ad,  who  was 
supposed  to  be  in  sympathy  with  the  movement  for  peace,  was 
removed  from  the  direction  of  military  affairs,  the  war  council  was 
abolished,  full  powers  were  conferred  on  the  Seraskier,  Mustapha 
Pasha,  and  a  new  resolution  seemed  to  have  been  taken  to  carry  on 
the  war  with  energy.  Two  weeks  later,  Mustapha  was  removed, 
and  Rauf  Pasha  was  appointed  Minister  of  War  in  his  place.  This 
was  considered  to  indicate  a  restoration  of  the  ascendency  of  Mah- 
moud Damad.  The  ascendency  of  the  pacific  policy  in  the  councils 
of  the  Government  seemed  clear  enough  about  the  middle  of  Decem- 
ber, when  the  Turkish  Government  addressed  a  circular  to  the 
powers,  suggesting  mediation ;  but  a  week  later,  when  the  Sultan 
reviewed  a  large  force  of  infantry  about  to  proceed  to  the  seat  of 
war,  the  war  party  appeared  to  be  predominant.  These  vacillations 
were  very  natural  in  the  desperate  condition  of  affairs  which  existed 
at  the  time,  when  to  yield,  after  the  terrible  succession  of  defeats 
which  the  Turkish  armies  had  suffered,  seemed  to  involve  the  sur- 
render of  the  larger  part  of  the  Empire  in  Europe,  a  part  of  that  in 
Asia,  and  all  of  Ottoman  pride.  Yet,  without  armies,  without 
money,  without  friends,  almost  without  fortified  positions,  and  with 
the  Russians  pressing  all  around,  what  was  to  be  done?  All  doubts 
were  finally  set  at  rest  on  the  8th  of  January,  when  the  Sultan,  the 
Ministerial  Council,  and  the  Parliament  united  in  asking  for  an 
armistice. 

The  Parliament  met  in  its  second  session,  December  13th.  In 
the  speech  from  the  throne,  the  Sultan,  after  referring  to  the  events 
of  the  year,  and  the  extension  of  the  liability  to  military  service  to 
the  Christians,  spoke  of  the  new  Constitution,  and  the  reforms 
which  he  had  undertaken,  in  regard  to  which  he  said  :  "  The  salva- 
tion of  the  Empire  depends  entirely  upon  the  complete  and  sincere 
carrying  out  of  the  Constitution.  Our  greatest  wish  has  been  to  see 
all  classes  of  our  subjects  enjoy  the  benefits  of  a  complete  equality 
and  our  country  profit  by  the  progress  of  modern  civilization  ;  the 
reform  introduced  into  the  finances,  the  fulfillment  of  all  our  engage- 
ments, the  distribution,  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  politi- 
cal economy,  of  the  taxes  and  dues ;  the  collection  of  the  revenue 
in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  injure  the  interests  of  the  population ; 
the  revision  of  our  judicial  system  in  conformity  with  the  require- 
ments of  the  time,  in  order  to  insure  the  impartial  administration  of 


422  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

justice  by  our  tribunals ;  the  reform  respecting  the  property  of  the 
Vakufs  with  a  view  to  facilitate  the  acquisition  of  landed  property ; 
the  formation  of  communes,  and  the  specification  of  their  powers 
as  an  essential  basis  for  the  administrative  fabric ;  and  lastly,  the  re- 
organization of  the  Gendarmerie.  But  the  war  has  postponed  the 
fulfillment  of  these  wishes.  Furthermore,  the  calamities  of  the  war 
have  exceeded  all  limits  ;  a  numerous  population,  non-combatant  and 
inoffensive  women  and  children,  whose  life  and  honor  ought  accord- 
ing to  the  usages  of  war  to  have  been  respected,  have  been  sub- 
jected to  cruel  treatment,  revolting  to  humanity.  I  am  pleased  to 
hope  that  in  the  future  nothing  will  prevent  the  truth  in  that  respect 
from  coming  to  light.  We  believe  that  we  have  given  you  a  mani- 
fest proof  of  our  firm  intention  to  persist  in  the  path  of  progress, 
by  directing  our  attention  to  internal  reforms,  even  at  a  time  when 
the  Government  is  engaged  in  a  great  war.  It  is  by  means  of 
complete  liberty  of  discussion  that  one  can  arrive  at  the  truth  in 
legislative  and  political  questions,  and  thus  protect  the  public  inter- 
est. The  Constitution  renders  this  a  duty  on  your  part,  and  I  do 
not  think  I  have  to  give  you  any  other  order  or  encouragement  in 
this  respect." 

The  members  of  the  Chamber  in  discussing  the  address  spoke  very 
plainly  about  the  inefficiency  which  had  been  shown  by  the  officers 
charged  with  the  conduct  of  the  war ;  and  the  house  decided  on  the 
2d  of  January,  by  a  vote  of  fifty  to  thirty,  to  retain,  in  the  reply  to 
the  address  of  the  throne,  a  passage  averring  that  the  Government 
had  riot  done  its  duty.  A  considerable  advance  in  the  independence 
and  apparent  capacity  of  the  deputies  was  observed  at  the  present 
session.  A  division  of  parties  began  to  appear;  the  opposition 
were  remarkably  bold  in  their  denunciations  of  the  faction  in  power, 
some  of  them  not  sparing  the  Sultan  himself.  It  was  a  subject  of 
especial  remark  that  among  those  who  had  rendered  themselves  con- 
spicuous were  men  from  the  provinces — from  Smyrna,  Janina,  Alep- 
po, Syria,  Anatolia,  and  Adrianople — and  not  from  the  capital ; 
"  and  yet  they  displayed  an  amount  of  political  insight  which  could 
scarcely  have  been  expected  of  them."  At  a  later  stage  in  the  pro- 
ceedings the  ministers  were  called  personally  into  the  Chamber  and 
made  to  give  an  account  of  their  administration  in  answer  to  search- 
ing questions. 

These  proceedings  were  very  unacceptable  to  the  ruling  faction  in 
the  Turkish  cabinet,  which  used  every  exertion  to  induce  the  Sultan 


HISTORY  OF  TURKEY  DURING  THE  WAR. 


423 


to  get  lid  of  the  too  free-spoken  deputies.  The  Sultan  accordingly 
ordered  the  dissolution  of  the  Parliament  on  the  20th  of  February, 
and  directed  that  certain  of  the  deputies  who  had  played  a  promi- 
nent part  in  exposing  the  abuses  of  the  administration  should  be 
sent  back  to  their  homes. 

An  important  change  in  the  Ottoman  Government  took  place 
about  the  5th  of  February,  when  the  office  of  Grand  Vizier  was 
abolished,  and  a  new  Ministry  was  organized  under  European  forms 
and  designations,  the  constitution  of  which  was  as  follows : 

"  Ahmed  Yefik  Eifendi,  President  of  the  Council  of  Ministers 
and  Minister  of  the  Interior ;  Server  Pasha,  Minister  of  Foreign  Af- 
fairs ;  Rauf  Pasha,  Minister  of  War ;  Said  Pasha,  Minister  of 
Marine;  Kiani  Pasha,  Minister  of  Finance;  Namyk  Pasha,  Grand 
Master  of  the  Artillery:  Ohannes  Tchamith  Effendi,  Minister  of 
Public  Works  and  Commerce ;  and  Savfet  Pasha,  President  of  the 
Council  of  State." 

This  measure  was  understood  to  indicate  a  further  step  in  carry- 
ing out  the  reforms  which  had  been  promised. 

The  question  was  often  suggested  during  the  war,  how  Turkey, 
confessedly  bankrupt  at  the  beginning  of  the  operations,  could  find 
means  for  carrying  them  on  so  long  and  so  well.  Notwithstanding 
the  total  destitution  of  money,  the  armies  were  kept  in  good  condi- 
tion and  tolerably  well  supplied  until  a  part  of  the  force  was  disabled 
by  the  severities  of  winter  and  the  rest  was  destroyed  by  capture. 
The  explanation  is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  Turkish  army  and 
officers  had  learned  to  do  without  money.  Official  salaries  were 
seldom  paid  till  from  five  to  fifteen  months  after  they  were  due ;  they 
were  liable  to  charges  amounting  to  about  twenty-five  per  cent,  of 
their  nominal  value,  and  were  further  reduced  fifty  per  cent,  on  the 
12th  of  July.  Thus  the  Government  was  not,  in  fact,  paying  salaries 
to  its  officers,  and  the  army  was  expected  to  live  off  the  country, 
without  need  for  money.  As  the  Government  was  not  pretending 
to  pay  its  foreign  debt,  and  the  army  was  taking  care  of  itself,  all 
of  its  actual  income  was  available  for  the  purchase  of  such  supplies 
as  it  needed  from  abroad,  which  had  to  be  paid  for  in  cash.  This 
method  of  management  would  answer  so  long  as  the  weather  was. 
pleasant,  but  the  need  of  the  army  for  a  better  method  of  provision! 
became  imperative  when  winter  closed,  and  the  pressure  of  necessity/ 
became  one  of  the  forces  to  compel  a  surrender. 


CHAPTEK  XIY. 

ARMISTICE     AND     PEACE. 

Early  Measures  relating  to  Peace — What  Russia  would  have  Demanded  in  June,  1877 — 
German  Prognostications — Growth  of  the  Peace  Party  in  Turkey — The  Porte  issues  a 
Circular  Appeal  to  the  Powers  for  Mediation — The  Powers  Decline  to  Interfere,  but 
England  brings  about  a  direct  Negotiation  between  the  Belligerents — Turkish  Com- 
missioners appointed,  with  full  powers  to  Treat — The  Armistice  and  the  Conditions 
of  Peace— The  Treaty  Signed  and  Ratified— Its  Conditions. 

THE  war  had  hardly  begun  before  speculations  were  set  afloat  in 
both  official  and  unofficial  circles  concerning  the  terms  upon  which 
peace  might  be  made.  Rumors  were  in  circulation  in  the  Russian 
army,  in  Berlin,  and  in  Yienna,  in  the  latter  part  of  May,  relative 
to  the  possibility  of  a  peace  being  negotiated  even  before  the  Rus- 
sians should  cross  the  Danube.  The  existence  of  a  peace  party  at 
Constantinople  was  assumed  even  at  that  early  date,  and  the  Grand 
Vizier,  Edhem  Pasha,  was  mentioned  as  a  functionary  who  main- 
tained intimate  relations  with  the  Court  of  Berlin,  and  through 
whom  overtures  of  mediation  might  be  made  by  Germany.  It  was 
suggested  that  the  fall  of  Ardahan  and  the  retreat  of  the  Turks  on 
Erzerum,  together  with  the  impression  made  upon  the  Sultan  by 
the  menacing  attitude  of  the  Chambers  and  the  population  of  the 
capital,  had  already  furnished  an  opportunity  for  German  mediation ; 
and  it  was  intimated  that  the  Sultan  would  not  be  unwilling  to 
listen  to  overtures  for  a  settlement,  as  affording  means  by  which  he 
could  escape  from  the  embarrassing  situation  in  which  he  was  placed 
at  that  time.  The  semi-official  Journal  de  St.  Petersburg  dismissed 
these  rumors  by  saying  that  diplomacy  had  better  not  pronounce  in 
favor  of  any  definite  plan  for  the  termination  of  the  war  until 
decisive  events  had  occurred  on  the  battle-field.  The  terms  of  peace, 
it  said,  must  depend  upon  the  course  of  the  war. 

Russian  diplomacy  in  private,  however,  was  doing  at  almost  that 
very  time  what  its  organ  before  the  public  advised  should  not  be 
done ;  for  before  the  sheet  which  contained  these  words  had  had 
(424) 


ARMISTICE  AND  PEACE.  425 

time  to  become  an  old  newspaper,  Count  Shuvaloff,  Russian  Ambas- 
sador to  England,  held  a  confidential  interview  with  Earl  Derby  in 
London  on  the  8th  of  June,  at  which  he  explained  to  him  the  terms 
which  Russia  would  exact  under  different  conditions  of  success  of 
its  arms,  and  among  them  included  almost  the  identical  terms  which 
it  did  exact  after  its  complete  success  in  January,  1878.  Egypt  and 
the  Suez  Canal  would  be  left  alone,  as  Prince  Gortchakoff  had 
promised  ;  Constantinople  would  not  be  occupied  permanently ;  a 
new  settlement  of  the  regulations  for  the  Straits  would  be  demanded 
of  the  powers ;  it  was  not  for  the  interest  of  Russia  to  trouble  En- 
gland in  its  Indian  possessions,  or,  consequently,  in  its  communica- 
tions with  them.  If  the  Porte  should  sue  for  peace  before  the  Rus- 
sian armies  crossed  the  Balkans,  the  Emperor  would  agree  not  to 
pass  that  line.  In  this  case  the  terms  of  peace  would  be  the 
autonomy  of  Bulgaria  as  a  vassal  province  under  the  guarantee  of 
Europe,  the  Turkish  troops  and  officials  to  be  removed  from  it,  the 
fortresses  to  be  disarmed  and  razed,  and  self-government  to  be  estab- 
lished within  it,  with  a  national  militia;  the  powers  to  agree  to 
assure  to  that  part  of  Bulgaria  which  is  to  the  south  of  the  Balkans, 
as  well  as  to  .the  other  Christian  provinces  of  Turkey,  the  best  pos- 
sible guarantees  for  a  regular  administration.  Montenegro  and 
Servia  should  receive  an  increase  of  territory,  to  be  determined  upon 
by  common  agreement,  and  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  should  be 
provided  with  such  institutions  as  should  be  judged  compatible 
with  their  internal  state  and  calculated  to  guarantee  them  a  good 
indigenous  administration. 

It  was  admitted  to  be  right  to  give  Austria-Hungary  a  preponder- 
ating voice  in  the  future  organization  of  these  provinces.  Russia 
would,  however,  reserve  the  right  of  stipulating  for  certain  special 
advantages  as  compensation  for  the  costs  of  war,  which  would  not 
exceed  the  restoration  of  the  portion  of  Bessarabia  ceded  in  1856 
and  the  cession  of  Batum,  with  adjacent  territory.  In  this  case, 
Rumania  could  be  compensated  by  the  proclamation  of  its  independ- 
ence, or  by  the  annexation  of  a  portion  of  the  Dobrudja,  and 
Austria-Hungary  would  not  be  opposed  in  seeking  its  own  security 
and  compensation  for  the  extension  of  Russia  by  adding  to  its  do- 
minions territory  in  Bosnia  and  partly  in  Herzegovina.  If  the  Turkish 
Government  should  refuse  to  accept  these  terms,  Russia  would  be 
obliged  to  pursue  the  war  until  the  Porte  was  compelled  to  agree  to 
peace,  and  in  this  case  the  terms  of  the  Imperial  Cabinet  might  be 


426  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

altered.  These  views  were  communicated  to  the  British  Govern- 
ment, not  to  be  used  to  influence  the  Porte  in  favor  of  peace,  for 
there  was  no  probability  that  it  would  accept  them  till  it  had 
learned  by  experience  how  weak  it  was,  but  that  the  neutrality  of 
England  might  be  insured  by  giving  it  some  actual  evidence  of  the 
moderation  of  Russia's  demands.  A  minute  of  these  propositions 
was  communicated  to  Count  Andrassy  and  Prince  Bismarck,  as 
representatives  of  the  Austrian  and  German  Governments.  At  a 
subsequent  interview,  the  Russian  Ambassador  informed  Earl  Derby 
that  his  Government  had  decided  that  the  separation  of  Bulgaria 
into  two  provinces  would  be  impracticable,  for  "  local  information 
proved  that  Bulgaria  must  remain  a  single  province,  otherwise  the 
most  laborious  and  intelligent  part  of  the  Bulgarian  population,  and 
notably  that  which  had  most  suffered  from  Turkish  maladministra- 
tion, would  remain  excluded  from  the  autonomous  institutions," 
and  that  the  proposed  terms  of  peace  would  be  modified  in  accord- 
ance with  this  view.  Earl  Derby  furnished  Mr.  Layard,  the  British 
Minister  at  Constantinople,  with  a  report  of  Count  Shuvaloff's  dec- 
larations, leaving  it  to  his  discretion  whether  or  not  he  should  com- 
municate the  Russian  propositions  to  the  Ottoman  Government. 
Mr.  Layard  decided  that  it  would  be  useless  to  try  to  induce  the 
Porte  to  consider  such  terms ;  and  the  fact  that  such  communica- 
tions had  taken  place  remained  a  secret  in  the  four  Cabinets  till 
February,  1878,  when  the  matter  was  made  public  in  a  British  Par- 
liamentary document. 

"While  the  conversations  of  Count  Shuvaloff  and  Earl  Derby  were 
going  on,  the  Berlin  Ministerial  Post,  said,  June  9th,  that  the  an- 
nounced determination  of  the  Russian  Government  to  annex  nothing 
resolved  itself  into  the  intention  to  govern  and  direct  all.  "Were 
Russia  to  annex  Bulgaria,  Austria  would  lay  her  hand  on  Bosnia 
and  Servia ;  Greece  and  England  would  protect  their  interests  by 
similar  measures ;  Rumania  would  be  accorded  a  fresh  guarantee ; 
while  Armenia,  if  embodied  with  the  Russian  Empire,  might  bring 
on  a  rupture  with  Great  Britain.  To  avoid  these  unpleasant  results, 
the  Russian  Government  had  resolved  to  maintain  the  integrity  of 
Turkey,  but  so  to  remodel  Turkey  as  to  place  it  under  the  absolute 
control  of  the  St.  Petersburg  authorities.  The  plan  was  favored 
by  the  vacillating  conduct  of  the  British  Cabinet,  disposing  Turkey 
to  settle  with  Russia,  no  matter  how  much  the  interests  of  the  other 
powers  might  be  injured  by  the  act. 


ARMISTICE  AND  PEACE.  427 

The  development  of  a  sentiment  in  favor  of  peace  in  Constanti- 
nople began  to  be  noticed  a  little  later.  The  Sultan  and  his  advisers 
were  disheartened  by  the  rapid  advance  of  the  Russians  toward  the 
Balkans,  the  incapacity  of  their  generals,  and  the  want  of  men  and 
money,  and  notes  were  sent  to  the  representatives  of  the  powers 
calling  attention  to  the  danger  threatened  to  Europe  by  the  Russian 
advance.  Subsequently  the  generals  reported  the  military  situation 
and  prospects  improved,  and  public  sentiment  became  more  warlike. 
The  intimation  of  the  Sultan  to  the  Austrian  Ambassador,  at  the 
beginning  of  August,  that  he  was  willing  to  make  peace  on  the  basis 
of  the  Andrassy  note,  came  at  about  the  same  time  that  the  Russian 
papers  were  representing  the  readiness  of  their  Government  to  enter 
into  negotiations,  but  no  advantage  was  taken  of  a  coincidence  which 
seemed  to  afford  a  rare  opportunity  to  stop  the  further  progress  of 
the  war. 

The  party  of  peace  at  Constantinople  evidently  grew  stronger 
during  the  fall,  and  exercised  a  perceptible  influence  over  the  de- 
liberations of  the  Cabinet  long  before  its  intentions  were  declared ; 
and  new  weight  was  added  to  its  force  as  reverse  after  reverse  fell 
upon  the  Turkish  arms.  On  the  12th  of  December,  the  Porte  issued 
a  circular  appeal  to  the  powers,  in  which,  after  referring  to  the 
origin  of  the  war  with  a  profession  that  it  had  not  provoked  it,  but 
had  done  everything  to  avoid  it,  and  after  reciting  the  measures  of 
reform  which  it  had  voluntarily  instituted  for  the  whole  Empire,  it 
said  :  "  If  any  doubt  could  still  survive  as  to  the  religious  fulfillment 
of  the  new  Constitution  and  of  the  reforms  that  we  have  promised 
in  the  Conference  of  Constantinople,  this  doubt  should  disappear  in 
the  presence  of  the  formal  and  solemn  declaration  of  the  sincerity 
of  our  resolutions.  We  proffer  in  this  regard  a  guarantee  of  which 
we  invite  Europe  to  take  note.  The  true  and  only  cause  of  hinderances 
which  might  slacken  our  efforts  in  this  path  would  be  found  in  the 
continuation  of  a  state  of  war.  Such  a  situation  is  not  only  dis- 
astrous with  reference  to  reforms,  but  equally  calamitous  in  regard 
to  the  general  prosperity  of  the  country."  Recalling  the  fact  that 
the  desire  for  conquest  had  been  expressly  disavowed  by  Russia,  the 
circular  inquired,  with  what  object,  then,  should  the  armies  prolong 
desolation  and  ruin  for  their  respective  countries  ?  and  concluded : 
"  We,  on  our  part,  think  that  the  moment  has  come  when  both 
belligerents  might  accept  peace  without  forfeit  to  their  dignity,  and 
when  Europe  might  usefully  interpose  its  good  offices.  As  for  the 


428  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Imperial  Government,  it  is  ready  to  ask  this,  not  that  the  country 
has  reached  the  end  of  its  resources.  There  are  no  sacrifices  which 
the  entire  Ottoman  nation  is  not  willing  to  face  to  maintain  the  in- 
dependence and  integrity  of  the  Fatherland.  But  the  duty  of  the 
Imperial  Government  is  to  avert,  if  possible,  any  further  effusion  of 
blood.  It  is,  therefore,  in  the  name  of  humanity  that  we  make  this 
appeal  to  the  sentiments  of  justice  in  the  Great  Powers,  and  that  we 
hope  they  will  be  inclined  to  receive  our  advances  favorably." 

The  note  was  generally  regarded  by  the  powers  as  affording  an  in- 
sufficient basis  for  mediation.  Germany  refused  to  act  upon  it. 
Austria  could  not  recognize  in  it  a  direct  appeal  for  mediation,  but 
regarded  it  as  only  an  indirect  effort  to  ascertain  the  dispositions  of 
the  powers.  The  British  Cabinet,  while  acknowledging  that  it 
scarcely  afforded  the  basis  of  a  successful  mediation,  thought  it  might 
serve  as  a  starting-point  for  mediation,  and  should  be  confidentially, 
if  not  officially,  communicated  to  the  Russian  Government,  but 
finally  answered  that  it  could  not  undertake  to  mediate,  the  views  of 
the  other  powers  on  the  subject  being  too  divergent.  The  Italian 
and  French  Governments  did  not  wish  to  take  the  initiative.  So  the 
appeal  was  not  communicated  to  the  Russian  Government.  The  En- 
glish Cabinet,  however,  upon  the  invitation  of  the  Sultan,  undertook 
to  ask  the  Russian  Government  confidentially  on  what  terms  it  would 
consent  to  make  peace.  The  Russian  Government  replied  that  the 
decisions  and  acts  of  the  Imperial  policy  were  still  guided  by  the  two 
paramount  considerations  of  putting  an  end  to  the  constantly  recur- 
ring disturbances,  and  avoiding  complications  by  respecting  the  in- 
terests of  third  parties,  but  that  all  intervention  would  be  refused. 
If  the  Turks  desired  an  armistice,  they  must  apply  directly  to  the 
Russian  Commander-in-chief,  and  the  terms  of  peace  must  be  dis- 
cussed between  the  belligerents  alone. 

The  English  Government  advised  the  Porte  to  treat  with  the 
Russians  on  their  own  terms.  Server  Pasha  and  JSTamyk  Pasha  were 
appointed,  January  13th,  to  go  to  the  Russian  headquarters  at  Kasan- 
lik  and  negotiate  with  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  for  an  armistice, 
and  concerning  the  preliminaries  of  peace.  The  plenipotentaries 
reached  Kasanlik,  and  the  negotiations  were  begun  on  the  20th.  On 
the  23d,  the  Turkish  Government  telegraphed  to  the  plenipotenti- 
aries giving  them  its  orders  and  full  powers  to  accept  whatever  terms 
the  Russians  offered.  So  eager  did  the  Government  seem  to  put  an 
end  to  its  troubles  that  it  was  said  that  the  Grand  Yizier  could  not 


ARMISTICE  AND  PEACE.  429 

admit  that  any  delay  or  procrastination  in  the  matter,  on  the  part  of 
the  Turkish  plenipotentiaries,  was  possible.  The  progress  of  the 
negotiations  were  inexplicably  delayed  from  day  to  day,  although  the 
Russians  knew  well  what  they  were  to  demand,  and  the  Turks  were 
ready  to  grant  anything  that  was  asked  of  them,  so  that  it  was  the 
31st  of  January  before  the  armistice  and  the  preliminaries  of  peace 
were  signed,  and  the  8th  of  February  before  they  were  officially 
published.  In  the  meantime,  the  place  of  the  negotiations  was 
changed,  by  the  continued  advance  of  the  Russian  armies,  to 
Adrianople,  the  most  important  place  in  Turkey  after  Constanti- 
nople. As  communicated  by  Mr.  Layard  to  the  British  Govern- 
ment, the  armistice  contained  ten  articles.  It  was  concluded 
between  Russia,  Servia,  Rumania,  and  Turkey,,  and  was  given  by 
Mr.  Layard  as  follows : 

"  1.  A  notice  of  three  days  must  be  given  before  a  resumption  of 
hostilities  takes  place.  The  armistice  is  to  be  communicated  to 
Montenegro  by  Russia. 

"  2.  Restoration  of  the  guns  and  territory  taken  after  the  signa- 
ture. 

"  3.  Gives  the  details  of  line  of  demarkation  and  neutral  zone  for 
Turkey,  Russia,  and  Servia,  placing  in  Russian  hands  almost  all  of 
Bulgaria,  Rumelia,  and  Thrace  up  to  the  lines  of  Constantinople  and 
Gallipoli.  Fortifications  are  not  to  be  retained  on  the  neutral 
territory,  and  no  new  ones  are  to  be  raised  there.  A  joint  com- 
mission will  determine  the  line  of  demarkation  for  Servia  and 
Montenegro.  The  Russians  to  occupy  Burgas  and  Midia,  on  the 
Black  Sea,  in  order  to  obtain  supplies,  but  no  war  material. 

"4.  Armies  beyond  the  line  of  demarkation  to  be  withdrawn 
within  three  days  of  signature  of  armistice. 

"5.  The  Turks  may  remove  arms,  etc.,  to  places  and  by  routes 
defined,  on  evacuating  the  fortifications  mentioned  in  Article  3.  If 
they  can  not  be  removed,  an  inventory  of  them  is  to  be  taken.  The 
evacuation  is  to  be  complete  within  seven  days  after  the  receipt  of 
orders  by  the  commanders. 

"  6.  Sulina  is  to  be  evacuated  within  three  days  by  the  Turkish 
troops  and  ships  of  war,  unless  prevented  by  ice.  The  Russians 
will  remove  the  obstacles  in  the  Danube,  and  will  superintend  the 
navigation  of  the  river. 

"  7.  The  railways  to  continue  to  work  under  certain  conditions. 

"  8.  Turkish  authorities  to  remain  in  certain  places. 


43^ 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


i:  9.  Black  Sea  blockade  to  be  raised. 

"  10.  Wounded  Turkish  soldiers  to  remain  under  the  care  of 
Russia." 

The  armistice  commenced  at  7  P.M.  on  the  31st  of  January. 

The  Russian  and  Turkish  commanders  on  the  spot  were  authorized 
to  settle  matters  relating  to  the  armistice  in  Armenia. 

The  preliminaries  of  peace,  as  published  in  the  Journal  of  St. 
Petersburg  on  the  8th  of  February,  were  : 

"If  the  Turks  demand  peace  or  an  armistice  at  the  outposts,  his 
Imperial  Highness  the  Commander-in-chief  shall  inform  them  that 
hostilities  can  not  be  suspended  unless  the  following  bases  shall  have 
been  previously  accepted : 

"  1.  Bulgaria,  within  the  limits  determined  by  the  majority  of  the 
population  of  Bulgaria,  which  limits  shall  in  no  case  be  less  than 
those  indicated  by  the  Constantinople  Conference,  shall  be  formed 
into  an  autonomous  tributary  principality,  with  a  national  Christian 
Government  and  a  native  militia.  The  Ottoman  army  shall  no 
longer  remain  there,  except  at  certain  points  to  be  settled  by  mutual 
agreement. 

"  2.  The  independence  of  Montenegro  shall  be  recognized.  An 
increase  of  territory,  equal  to  that  which  the  fortune  of  war  has 
placed  in  its  hands,  shall  be  secured  to  it.  The  definite  frontier 
shall  be  arranged  hereafter. 

"  3.  The  independence  of  Rumania  and  Servia  shall  be  recognized. 
An  adequate  territorial  indemnity  shall  be  secured  to  the  first,  and 
a  rectification  of  frontier  to  the  second. 

"  4:.  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  shall  be  granted  an  autonomous 
administration,  with  adequate  guarantees.  Analogous  reforms  shall 
be  introduced  into  the  other  Christian  provinces  of  Turkey  in 
Europe. 

"  5.  The  Porte  shall  undertake  to  indemnify  Russia  for  the  ex- 
penses of  the  war  and  the  losses  which  she  has  had  to  bear.  The 
nature  of  this  indemnity,  whether  pecuniary,  territorial,  or  other- 
wise, shall  be  settled  hereafter.  His  Majesty  the  Sultan  shall  come 
to  an  understanding  with  his  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Russia  for  the 
protection  of  the  rights  and  interests  of  Russia  in  the  Straits'  of  the 
Bosporus  and  the  Dardanelles. 

"  As  proof  of  the  acceptance  of  these  essential  bases,  Ottoman 
plenipotentiaries  shall  proceed  immediately  to  Odessa  or  Sebastopol, 
to  negotiate  there  preliminaries  of  peace  with  the  Russian  plenipo- 


ARMISTICE  AND  PEACE. 


431 


tentiaries.  As  soon  as  the  acceptance  of  these  preliminary  condi- 
tions shall  be  officially  notified  to  the  Commanders-in-chief  of  the 
Imperial  armies,  armistice  conditions  shall  be  negotiated  at  the  two 
theaters  of  war,  and  hostilities  may  be  provisionally  suspended. 
The  two  Commanders-in-chief  shall  have  power  to  complete  the 
above  conditions  by  indicating  certain  strategical  points  and  for- 
tresses as  a  material  guarantee  of  the  acceptance  of  our  armistice 
conditions  by  the  Sublime  Porte  and  of  its  entrance  on  the  path  of 
peace  negotiations." 

The  conditions,  it  was  explained,  had  been  drawn  up  before  the 
rapid  advance  of  the  Russians  south  of  the  Balkans.  The  altered 
position  of  affairs  rendered  it  unnecessary  for  the  plenipotentiaries 
to  go  to  Odessa  or  Sebastopol  to  carry  on  the  negotiations  for  peace, 
which  would  now  take  place  at  Adrianople. 

The  negotiations  for  the  final  adjustment  of  the  terms  of  peace 
proceeded  slowly,  as  they  were  interrupted  by  the  occurrence  of 
differences  on  many  points  of  detail,  in  which  the  Turkish  plenipo- 
tentiaries asked  concessions  of  the  Russians.  Among  the  questions 
which  gave  rise  to  discussion  were  the  extent  that  should  be  given 
the  new  principality  of  Bulgaria,  the  amount  of  the  indemnity  that 
should  be  paid  by  Turkey,  some  points  concerning  the  surrender  of 
Turkish  iron-clads  to  Russia,  and  the  demand  for  the  removal  of 
the  Mohammedan  officers  and  troops  from  Bulgaria.  A  clause 
hypothecating  the  Egyptian  tribute  and  certain  other  revenues  as 
security  for  the  indemnity  to  be  paid  to  Russia,  was  objected  to  as 
infringing  upon  the  vested  rights  of  foreign  creditors.  Modifications 
were  granted  on  most  of  these  points.  In  the  meantime,  although  an 
armistice  existed  in  name,  it  was  effective  to  prevent  active  move- 
ments of  the  Turks  only,  for  the  Russians  continued  to  advance 
steadily,  while  the  Turks  offered  no  resistance,  nor  apparently  any 
protest,  till  the  Russian  headquarters  were  established  at  San 
Stefano,  within  ten  miles  of  Constantinople,  and,  in  fact,  a  suburb  of 
the  capital,  and  the  negotiations  were  carried  on  during  the  last 
days  at  that  place.  The  preliminary  treaty  was  finally  signed  on 
the  2d  of  March,  and  the  fact  was  announced  to  the  soldiers  at  San 
Stefano  on  the  following  day  (Sunday).  The  plenipotentiaries  im- 
mediately entered  upon  the  discussion  of  the  details  of  the  several 
points  of  the  treaty  which  had  been  agreed  to  en  ~bloc  or  as  a  whole. 
On  the  Yth  of  March,  Rauf  Pasha  was  appointed  to  accompany 
Gen.  Ignatieff  to  St.  Petersburg  to  exchange  the  ratifications  of 


432  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

the  treaty.  The  ratifications  were  exchanged  ten  days  afterward, 
March  17th,  and  the  treaty  itself  was  published  on  the  21st  of 
March.  Its  principal  provisions  are  as  follows  :* 

The  opening  articles  relate  to  Montenegro,  Servia,  Rumania,  and 
Bulgaria.  Montenegro  and  Servia  are  declared  independent.  Mon- 
tenegro is  given  Antivari,  and  Servia  is  given  Nissa,  the  valley  of 
the  Drina,  and  Little  Zvornik.  The  questions  between  Montenegro 
and  the  Porte  are  to  be  settled  through  Austria  and  Russia.  The 
Mohammedans  of  Servia  are  allowed  to  retain  their  personal  prop- 
erty. A  Turkish-Servian  Commission  shall  determine  within  two 
years  questions  respecting  real  estate,  and  within  three  years 
those  respecting  the  property  of  the  State  and  of  the  Church 
(Yakuf).  Rumania  is  made  independent.  The  question  concern- 
ing a  war  indemnity  shall  be  arranged  by  a  special  treaty  between 
Rumania  and  Turkey.  Rumanian  subjects  shall  have  the  same 
rights  in  Turkey  as  those  of  other  powers.  The  final  bounda- 
ries of  Bulgaria  shall  be  determined  by  a  Russo-Turkish  Com- 
mission previous  to  the  evacuation  of  Rumelia,  and  shall  follow  the 
following  lines  :  On  the  west  the  New  and  Old  Servian  frontiers ; 
the  boundary  line  starts  from  Yranya,  crosses  the  Kara  Dagh  Moun- 
tain, the  Kara  Drina  River,  the  Grammes  Mountain,  passes  by  Kas- 
toria  and  around  Saionica,  and  follows  the  river  Karasu  as  far  as 
Yenidje,  on  the  ^Egean  Sea ;  south-west  of  Kavala  the  boundary 
runs  along  the  coast  to  Dedeagatch,  thence  northward  as  far  as 
Tchirmen.  It  winds  round  Adrianople  at  a  distance  of  two  and  a 
half  hours'  march,  passes  through  Kirk  Kilissa,  joins  Luleh  Burgas, 
and  reaches  in  a  straight  line  to  Hekim  Tabiassi,  on  the  Euxine. 
It  runs  along  the  coast  as  far  as  Mangalia,  includes  Varna,  bears  off 
to  the  west,  and  terminates  at  Rassova  on  the  Danube. 

The  Prince  of  Bulgaria  shall  be  chosen  by  a  free  vote  of  the  peo- 
ple, confirmed  by  the  Porte,  and  approved  by  the  powers.  No 
member  of  any  dynasty  of  the  Great  Powers  shall  be  eligible.  The 
National  Assembly  shall  be  convoked  at  Tirnova  or  Philippopolis, 
to  consider  the  future  organization  of  the  country,  which  shall  be 
analogous  to  that  of  the  Danubian  principalities  as  established  in 
1830,  which  shall  be  arranged  before  the  choice  of  the  prince,  under 
the  superintendence  of  a  Russian,  and  in  the  presence  of  a  Turkish 
commissioner.  The  introduction  of  the  new  government  shall  be 
intrusted  for  two  years  to  a  Russian  commissioner.  After  one  year, 

*  The  text  of  the  treaty  ia  given  in  Appendix  II. 


ARMISTICE  AND  PEACE. 


433 


the  plenipotentiaries  of  other  powers  may  participate,  if  it  is  con- 
sidered necessary.  The  Turkish  army  having  left  Bulgaria,  all  the 
fortresses  shall  be  razed  at  the  cost  of  the  communities.  Till  a 
national  militia  can  be  formed,  Bulgaria  shall  be  occupied  for  two 
years  by  the  Russians,  with  six  divisions  of  infantry  and  two  divis- 
ions of  cavalry,  in  all  50,000  men,  which  shall  be  maintained  at  the 
cost  of  the  Bulgarians.  The  amount  of  tribute  to  be  paid  by  Bulgaria 
shall  be  settled  by  Turkey,  Russia,  and  the  other  powers.  Bulgaria 
shall  assume  the  obligations  of  Turkey  in  reference  to  the  Rustchuk- 
Varna  Railroad  Company,  after  an  agreement  has  been  reached  be- 
tween the  Porte,  Bulgaria,  and  the  company.  Arrangements  con- 
cerning the  other  railway  lines  are  reserved. 

The  Porte  shall  have  the  right  to  construct  a  road  for  the  trans- 
port of  troops  and  war  material  to  the  provinces  lying  beyond  Bul- 
garia. This  road  will  go  from  Salonica  up  the  valley  of  the  Yardar 
and  to  Pristina.  The  regulation  of  postal  and  telegraphic  connec- 
tions shall  be  intrusted  to  a  special  commission. 

The  same  provisions  are  made  in  respect  to  the  rights  of  Moham- 
medans possessing  property  in  Bulgaria  as  are  applied  to  Servia. 

The  Danubian  fortresses  shall  be  razed ;  the  building  of  forts  on 
the  Danube  and  its  navigation  by  vessels  of  war  are  forbidden. 
Only  customs  and  police  vessels  are  permitted.  The  privileges  of 
the  International  Danube  Commission  are  continued  in  force.  The 
Porte  shall  re-establish  the  navigation  of  the  Sulina  mouth,  and 
allow  indemnification  for  private  losses. 

Reforms  shall  immediately  be  introduced  into  Bosnia  and  the 
Herzegovina,  the  same  as  were  demanded  at  the  first  sitting  of  the 
Conference  at  Constantinople,  with  the  assent  of  Austria  and  Rus- 
sia. Arrears  of  taxes  are  not  to  be  claimed.  The  revenue  until 
1880  is  to  be  applied  to  indemnify  the  sufferers  by  the  insurrection, 
and  to  provide  for  local  needs. 

The  application  of  the  ordinance  of  1868  is  renewed  to  Crete. 
Similar  ordinances  shall  be  made  for  Epirus,  Thessaly,  and  other 
parts  of  European  Turkey.  A  special  commission  shall  arrange  the 
particulars  of  this  ordinance,  which  shall  be  submitted  to  the  ap- 
proval of  the  Porte,  and  applied  under  the  supervision  of  Russia. 

Armenia  shall  be  given  reforms  according  to  local  needs,  and  shall 
be  protected  against  the  Kurds  and  Circassians.  A  complete  and 
general  amnesty  shall  be  declared. 

The  Porte  shall  take  into  earnest  consideration  the  views  of  the 
23 


434 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


mediatory  powers  in  regard  to  the  possession  of  the  citj  of  Khotur, 
and  shall  carry  out  the  work  of  the  demarkation  of  the  Turco-Per- 
sian  boundaries. 

The  indemnity  to  be  paid  by  Turkey  to  Russia  is  fixed  at  1,410 
millions  of  rubles,  of  which  900  millions  shall  be  charged  to  the 
costs  of  the  war,  400  millions  to  the  account  of  damages  to  trade, 
100  millions  to  the  insurrection  in  the  Caucasus,  10  millions  for  the 
damages  to  Russian  subjects  and,  property  in  Turkey. 

In  consideration  of  the  stringent  financial  condition  of  the  Turk- 
ish Empire,  and  in  accordance  with  the  desire  of  the  Sultan,  the 
Czar  of  Russia  is  satisfied  to  be  offered  in  payment,  together  with 
the  sanjak  of  Tultcha  (which  may  be  exchanged  for  Bessarabia), 
Ardahan,  Kars,  Bayazid,  and  the  Armenian  territory  to  the  Soghanli 
Dagh. 

Turkey  undertakes  to  settle,  in  a  conciliatory  spirit,  all  actions 
between  Russian  and  Turkish  subjects,  and  to  execute  immediately 
all  legal  judgments  already  delivered. 

The  privileges  of  the  monks  of  Mount  Athos  are  preserved  to 
them. 

The  return  of  the  Russian  troops  from  Turkish  territory  shall  be 
completed  within  three  months.  A  part  of  the  troops  shall  be  em- 
barked at  the  ports  of  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Sea  of  Marmora,  and 
at  Trebizond. 

The  Russians  shall  administer  the  Turkish  territory  till  the  return 
of  their  troops. 

The  Porte  promises  not  to  proceed  against  Ottoman  subjects  who 
have  had  relations  with  the  Russians. 

A  discharge  of  prisoners  shall  take  place  after  the  ratification  of 
the  treaty. 

Ratifications  shall  take  place  within  not  more  than  fourteen  days. 
The  formal  conclusion  of  peace  is  reserved,  but  in  any  case  these 
preliminaries  shall  be  binding  for  Russia  and  Turkey. 

According  to  an  estimate  based  upon  returns  made  some  time 
before  the  recent  war,  which  makes  the  total  population  of  the  new 
Bulgaria  3,822,000,  the  inhabitants  of  the  principality  are  classified 
as  2,372,000  Bulgarians,  819,000  Turks  and  Tartars,  220,000  Alba- 
nians, 101,000  Greeks,  65,000  Circassians,  and  15,000  Rumanians, 
besides  gypsies,  Jews,  and  others. 

The  accession  of  territory  to  Servia  is  equal  to  4,100  square  miles, 


ARMISTICE  AND  PEACE. 


435 


with  246,000  inhabitants,  of  whom  92,000  are  Mohammedans.  That 
part  of  the  new  territory  which  lies  around  Nissa  is  inhabited  by 
Bulgarians ;  further  west  Albanians  extend  up  to  the  frontiers  of 
Old  Servia ;  and  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  remainder  of  the 
new  territory,  though  Servians  or  Bosnians,  are  Mohammedans 
Servia,  as  newly  constituted,  will  have  an  area  of  18,590  square 
miles,  with  1,598,522  inhabitants,  among  whom  are  150,000  Bulga- 
rians, 160,000  Rumanians,  and  92,000  Mohammedans. 

Montenegro  is  increased  by  the  districts  of  G-atchko  and  Nicsic 
in  the  north ;  Spuz  and  Podgoritza  in  the  east ;  and  a  seaboard  on 
the  Adriatic.  These  territories  have  an  extent  of  1,450  square  miles, 
with  45,000  inhabitants,  of  whom  15,000  are  Mohammedans  and 
about  10,000  Albanians.  The  principality  will  now  have  3,150 
square  miles,  with  241,000  inhabitants. 

The  Dobrudja,  or  the  sanjak  of  Tultcha,  which  is  ceded  to  Rus- 
sia, to  be  exchanged  for  Bessarabia,  comprises  4,990  square  miles, 
and  has  194,000  inhabitants,  of  whom  109,000  are  Mohammedans. 
The  part  of  Bessarabia  for  which  it  is  proposed  to  exchange  it  has 
4, TOO  square  miles  and  18,000  inhabitants. 

The  whole  amount  of  the  cessions  made  by  Turkey  is  Y4,580 
square  miles,  with  4,306,000  inhabitants,  of  whom  933,000  are 
Turks  and  1,646,000  are  Mohammedans.  The  political  divisions  of 
what  has  hitherto  been  known  as  Turkey  in  Europe,  will,  in  future, 
be  according  to  this  estimate,  as  follows  : 


Area  in 
Square  miles. 

f  Rumania 46,798 

I  Dobrudia  (Russia) 4,990 

Independent,  j  gervia ^^ 

[Montenegro  3,150 


Tributary ....      Bulgaria . 


64,040 


("Metropolitan  Provinces...  5,470 

Greek  Provinces 19,950 

Turkish 1  Albania 24,830 

Bosnia 29,950 

(.Crete 3,320 

158,080 


Population. 

4,850,000 
194,000 

1,598,522 
241,000 

3,822,000 

991,000 
1,274,000 
1,693,000 
1,122,000 

275,000 

9,661,000 


Moham- 
medant. 


109,000 
92,500 
15,000 

1,430,000 

584,000 

336,000 

1,065,000 

576,000 

40,000 

4,247,500' 


Turkey  in  Europe  has  been  reduced  to  83,510  square  miles,  and' 
5,355,000  inhabitants,  of  whom  2,601,000  are  Mohammedans.     Of 


436  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

the  inhabitants,  1,645,000  are  Albanians,  1,142,000  are  Servians 
(Bosnians  and  Croats),  1,359,000  are  Greeks,  but  only  834,500  are 
Turks. 

In  Asia,  Turkey  has  surrendered  about  10,000  square  miles,  with 
270,000  inhabitants,  and  there  remain  to  her  714,000  square  miles, 
and  about  16,000,000  inhabitants,  of  whom  less  than  7,000,000  are 
Turks. 


THE    HANGING   OF    CHRISTIANS    BY   THE   TURKS   IN   THE    STREETS 
OF   PHILIPPOPOLIS. 


HEADS    OF    RUSSIAN    WOUNDED. 


CHAPTEE  XV. 

THE   ATROCITIES   OF   THE   WAR. 

The  Expectation  that  Outrages  would  be  Committed — It  was  not  Disappointed — The 
Kurds  in  Southern  Armenia — American  Missionaries  in  Danger — The  Massacre  at 
Bayazid — No  one  Punished  for  it — Charges  of  Outrages  by  Russians  in  Armenia — They 
are  not  Confirmed — Statements  of  English  Witnesses  on  the  Conduct  of  the  Rus- 
sians— Gen.  Melikoff's  Statement — Proclamation  by  Mukhtar  Pasha  Enforcing  Prin- 
ciples of  Humanity — Russian  Severities  in  Abkhasia — The  Rivalry  of  Massacres  in 
Bulgaria — Attacks  on  Neutral  Property  and  Hospitals  at  Widin  and  Rustchuk — The 
Manufacture  of  Atrocities — Official  Statements  by  the  Turks  against  Russians  and 
Bulgarians — The  Mob  at  Nicopolis — The  Bulgarians  at  Offandlik — Destruction  at 
Sistova — Wounded  Women  and  Children  at  Rasgrad  and  Shumla — Bulgarian  Ex- 
cesses at  Eski  Sagra — The  Turks  Recapture  the  Town  and  Obliterate  it — The  Rus- 
sians Exculpated  from  the  Charge  of  Committing  Outrages  upon  Non-combatants— 
What  the  Turks  Ascribed  to  the  Russians — Testimony  of  Mr.  Archibald  Forbes — 
Report  of  Lieut. -Col.  Wellesley— How  the  Bulgarians  Regarded  the  Case— A  few 
Bright  Spots  in  the  Picture — Turkish  Atrocities  far  in  Excess  of  Anything  which 
the  Bulgarians  did — Destruction  of  Teni  Sagra — Trial  and  Punishment  of  the  Bul- 
garians— Wholesale  Executions — Remonstrances  of  Foreign  Governments — Cruelty 
of  Turkish  Soldiers  toward  Armed  Foes — The  Geshoffs — Destitution  in  the  Ravaged 
Districts — Movements  for  Relief — Conduct  of  the  Montenegrins. 

THE  remembrance  of  the  hideous  deeds  which  were  perpetrated  by 
the  Turkish  irregular  troops  in  Bulgaria,  in  the  summer  of  1876, 
gave  reasonable  grounds  for  the  expectation  that  the  far  more  im- 
portant campaigns  of  1877  would  be  distinguished  by  the  enactment 
of  similar  scenes  on.  a  more  extended  scale,  even  though  the  perpe- 
tration of  outrages  in  a  more  atrocious  degree  were  not  possible. 
The  conduct  of  the  Turks  in  the  matter  of  the  Bulgarian  outrages 
had  given  no  reason  to  hope  that  either  their  Government  or  their 
officers  would  exert  any  serious  efforts  to  repress  the  cruelties  of  their 
barbarous  adherents.  The  few  executions  which  the  administration 
in  Bulgaria  had  made  a  show  of  making  of  obscure  murderers,  in- 
spired no  confidence  in  the  determination  of  the  Porte  to  stop  bar- 
barous acts  by  its  soldiery,  while  high  officers,  who  had  abetted  out- 
rages, escaped  arrest.  Shevket  Pasha,  their  commander  in  Bulgaria, 
whose  duty  it  had  been  to  put  an  end  to  the  outrages  while  they 

(439) 


440 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


were  in  progress,  but  had  made  no  effort  to  do  so,  not  only  remained 
in  favor,  but  after  a  brief  retirement  was  again  brought  forward  and 
intrusted  with  responsible  commands  during  the  campaign  of  1877. 
The  truth  was,  the  Turkish  Government  could  not  afford  to  adopt  a 
determined  course  toward  its  irregulars.  It  was  fighting  for  exist- 
ence, with  a  scarcity  of  means  and  men,  and  depended  largely  upon 
these  wild  adventurers  to  keep  the  ranks  of  its  armies  full.  Severe 
discipline  against  them  would  have  involved  the  danger  of  alienating 
them  from  their  fidelity,  and  perhaps  have  provoked  them  to  de- 
Bertion  or  mutiny.  It  was  not  expected,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the 
course  of  the  Russians  would  be  humane,  according  to  the  views 
that  prevail  among  the  more  cultivated  nations  of  the  West.  The 
Russian  Government  itself  is  not  humane ;  its  most  liberal  measures 
have  been  characterized  in  their  execution  by  a  severity  and  disre- 
gard of  personal  rights,  repugnant  to  modern  ideas ;  and  it  has, 
within  a  few  years,  carried  into  effect  measures  that  were  intolerant 
in  themselves,  in  a  manner  that  may  be  characterized  as  barbarous. 
The  peasants,  of  whom  its  regular  forces  are  composed,  have  enjoyed 
no  education  in  the  humanities,  and  its  irregular  troops  are  hardly  less 
unruly  and  rash  and  cruel  than  the  Bashi-Bazouks  and  Kurds  of  the 
Turks.  The  world  was  ready  to  hear,  without  surprise,  of  at  least 
extreme  carelessness  or  indifference  with  regard  to  the  laws  of  war 
on  the  part  of  the  Russian  soldiers,  and  the  exercise  of  severity  by 
their  officers. 

The  worst  apprehensions  were  justified  in  the  event.  The  long 
list  of  murders,  burnings,  and  devastations  committed  on  both  sides 
during  the  campaign  of  1877,  finds  a  parallel — if  it  does  find  it — 
only  in  the  accounts  of  the  slaughters  and  spoliations  that  accom- 
panied the  campaigns  of  such  barbarian  "scourges  of  the  human 
race"  as  Tamerlane  and  Genghis  Khan.  The  first  accounts  of 
depredations  came  from  Lower  Armenia,  in  the  country  around 
Lake  Yan.  While  the  Turkish  armies  were  concentrated  around 
Erzerum,  to  resist  the  advancing  armies  of  Generals  Tergukassoff 
and  Melikoff,  the  Kurds  flocked  up  from  the  south,  and  did  their 
own  will  in  the  region.  They  were  organized  into  bodies  of  troops 
and  placed  under  the  general  command  of  Faik  and  Ismail  Pashas, 
but  were  not  restrained,  and  soon  the  district  of  Bashkalleh,  compris- 
ing some  twenty  Christian  villages,  was  deserted  in  consequence  of 
their  depredations.  The  inhabitants  fled,  many  of  them  escaping  to 
Persia,  where  they  arrived  in  a  starving  condition.  The  mission- 


THE  ATROCITIES  OF  THE  WAR.  441 

aries  of  the  American  Board,  which  has  an  important  station  at  Van, 
were  compelled  to  place  their  families,  for  safety,  upon  an  island  in 
the  lake.  One  of  the  missionaries,  having  received  a  sunstroke,  had 
to  be  taken  to  the  town  for  medical  aid,  and  the  party  who  had  him 
in  charge  would  have  been  dispatched  incontinently  by  the  Kurds, 
had  not  the  Pasha,  a  friend  of  the  missionaries,  given  them  the  pro- 
tection of  a  strong  guard.  The  Christian  charges  of  the  missionaries 
were  subjected  to  the  grossest  treatment ;  their  crops  were  carried 
away,  their  cattle  killed,  their  villages  burned,  their  women  and  even 
their  children  violated.  Ten  Christians  who  fled  for  safety  into  the 
church  at  TJtch  Kilissa,  were  murdered.  The  region  of  Bitlis,  where 
the  missionaries  have  another  station,  was  reduced  to  anarchy  by  the 
presence  of  the  Kurds,  so  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  were  able  to 
remain  in  their  own  houses  only  by  keeping  armed  and  demonstrating 
their  ability  to  defend  themselves.  After  the  defeat  of  the  Russians 
at  Delibaba,  the  irregulars  swarmed  into  the  Alashgerd  district,  where 
they  are  said  to  have  massacred  the  populations  of  whole  villages,  and 
to  have  compelled  three  thousand  Christian  families  to  seek  the  pro- 
tection of  Gen.  Tergukassoff's  army,  which  was  afforded  them, 
although  the  Russians  themselves  were  harassed  in  their  retreat  by 
the  enemy,  and  were  hastening  to  reach  then*  own  territory. 

The  culmination  of  Kurdish  atrocities  took  place  at  Bayazid, 
where,  after  the  engagement  of  the  19th  of  June,  when  nine  hun- 
dred Cossack  cavalry  surrendered  and  were  immediately  murdered, 
the  Kurds  rushed  into  the  town  and  literally  put  it  to  the  sword. 
"  The  scene  that  ensued,"  says  a  correspondent  of  the  London 
Times,  who  wrote  from  the  Turkish  camp  near  Kars,  "  was  one  of 
unparalleled  horror.  The  town  contained  165  Christian  families, 
and  all  of  the  men,  women,  and  children  were  ruthlessly  put  to  the 
sword.  A  Turkish  officer  who  visited  the  town  a  few  days  subse- 
quently states  that  there  was  not  a  single  inhabitant  left ;  all  had 
fled,  and,  including  the  Russian  prisoners,  upwards  of  2,400  people 
had  been  killed.  In  every  house  he  entered,  small  groups  of  dead 
were  lying  shockingly  mutilated,  and  in  the  most  revolting  and  in- 
decent positions.  Captain  M'Calmont,  who  visited  the  place  shortly 
after  the  Russian  relief,  states  that  it  is  entirely  deserted,  and  a  mere 
heap  of  ruins ;  also,  that  soldiers  were  employed  for  six  days  in 
burying  the  dead,  the  number  of  whom  it  was  impossible  to  esti- 
mate. On  hearing  of  this  massacre,  Mukhtar  Pasha  at  once  sent 
down  orders  to  have  the  Kurds  disbanded  and  disarmed,  and  their 


442  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

ringleaders  shot.  They,  however,  anticipated  the  first  of  these  in- 
structions by  throwing  down  their  arms  and  deserting  en  masse  on 
the  approach  of  Tergukassoff's  column  on  the  10th  of  July."  In 
one  church  200  bodies  were  found,  and  scarcely  a  house  existed  in 
which  there  were  not  two  or  more  corpses.  Faik  Pasha,  a  Lieuten- 
ant-General,  at  the  head  of  six  battalions  of  soldiers,  "  never  moved 
a  file  into  the  town  to  check  these  bloodthirsty  scoundrels  in  their 
work  of  slaughter." 

Sir  Arnold  Kemball,  the  British  Commissioner  at  the  headquar- 
ters of  the  Turkish  Commander-in-chief,  on  hearing  of  the  massacre, 
immediately  sent  Captain  M'Calmont  as  a  messenger  to  Ismail 
Pasha,  the  commandant  of  the  regular  troops  in  the  district  of  Baya- 
zid,  to  represent  to  him  the  horror  which  the  news  of  the  affair 
would  excite  in  the  civilized  world,  and  the  injury  which  would  ac- 
crue to  Turkey  in  consequence  of  the  perpetration  of  such  acts,  and 
to  impress  upon  him  the  necessity  of  adequately  punishing  the  lead- 
ers in  the  outrage.  He  made  similar  representations  to  Mukhtar 
Pasha,  the  Turkish  Commander-in-chief,  who  expressed  his  full  con- 
currence in  the  demand  for  the  punishment  of  the  Bayazid  criminals, 
and  promised  to  suspend  Faik  Pasha,  the  commander  of  the  Kurds,  and 
have  him  brought  before  a  court-martial  for  not  preventing  the  outrage. 
Faik  Pasha  was  continued  in  command,  notwithstanding  this  prom- 
ise. A  court-martial  was  indeed  cons  ituted  later  in  the  season  for 
his  trial,  along  with  other  offending  Turkish  officers ;  but  he  was 
arraigned,  not  for  the  inhumanities  which  he  had  permitted,  but  for 
inefficiency  in  not  having  prevented  the  relief  of  Bayazid  by  Gen. 
Tergukassoff.  The  Sheik  Ulaledin,  the  reputed  instigator  of  the 
massacre,  was  in  September  still  in  the  camp  of  Kurd  Ismail  Pasha, 
"  an  honored  guest."  It  was  stated  in  August  that  10,000  Christians 
had  escaped  into  Persian  territory. 

The  difficulties  experienced  by  the  Turkish  generals  in  dealing 
with  these  offenders  of  the  "  Irregulars,"  are  illustrated  by  the  result 
of  the  execution  of  a  Circassian  by  Mukhtar  Pasha  a  few  days  be- 
fore the  Bayazid  massacre,  for  shooting  a  villager,  whose  lamb  he 
had  stolen.  The  chief  of  the  band  to  which  the  criminal  belonged 
threatened  that  if  he  were  hanged,  he  would  retire  to  his  home  with 
his  whole  tribe,  and  the  body  of  1,100  men  did  actually  desert  on  the 
day  after  the  execution. 

The  Turks,  in  their  turn,  freely  charged  the  Russians  with  viola- 
tions of  the  laws  of  war  during  their  campaign  in  Armenia.  The 


THE  ATROCITIES  OF  THE  WAR. 


443 


principal  accusations  were  summed  up  in  a  circular  which  was 
addressed  by  the  Turkish  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  to  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Porte  abroad,  which  recited  that  the  Russians  had 
carried  off  all  the  property  of  the  Sheik  Evlia  Yusuf ,  near  Bayazid, 
and  made  all  his  family  prisoners ;  that  they  had  summoned  a  party 
of  Kurds,  including  five  or  six  chiefs,  to  the  palace  of  the  Armenian 
bishop  near  Utch  Kilissa,  and  had  there  massacred  them  ;  that 
Toprak  Kaleh  and  several  villages,  in  fact  all  of  the  villages  through 
which  the  Russians  passed  in  their  retreat,  had  been  destroyed  ;  that 
a  great  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  these  localities,  Mussulmans  and 
Christians,  had  been  maltreated  and  carried  off ;  that  all  the  prop- 
erty of  twelve  tribes  had  been  seized  by  the  enemy ;  that  two  nota- 
bles of  tribes  in  a  village  of  Kara  Kilissa  and  forty  old  men,  with 
women  and  children,  who  had  taken  refuge  in  the  mountains,  with 
a  number  of  other  inoffensive  persons,  had  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  the  Russians,  and  been  put  to  death  one  after  another;  and 
that  some  Mussulmans  of  one  of  the  towns  who  had  made  their 
submission  to  the  Russians,  had  been  sent  to  Siberia,  and  the  re- 
mainder, without  distinction  of  age  or  sex,  had  been  ruthlessly  mas- 
sacred. During  the  siege  of  Kars,  on  the  5th  of  July,  the  Turkish 
commandant  at  Kars  sent  a  messenger  under  a  flag  of  truce  to  the 
Russian  lines  on  some  matter  connected  with  hospital  duty;  ac- 
cording to  one  account  to  claim  some  dead  and  wounded  on  the 
field,  according  to  another  to  warn  the  Russians  that  they  were 
firing  into  the  hospital.  The  flag  was  not  respected,  but  the  Rus- 
sians directed  their  fire  upon  the  messenger  and  killed  him. 

The  accusations  against  the  Russian  officers,  so  far  as  they  charge 
the  perpetration  of  outrages  in  Armenia,  were  not  substantiated. 
Most  of  them  were  contradicted  by  the  representatives  of  the  British 
Government  and  the  English  press  who  were  attached  to  the  Turk- 
ish army.  The  cases  specified  in  the  Turkish  official  statement, 
even  if  they  were  correctly  described  in  the  report,  can  not  be 
classed  in  the  same  category  as  the  massacre  at  Bayazid,  or  the 
depredations  committed  by  the  Kurds  around  Yan  and  Bitlis,  and 
in  the  plain  of  Alashgerd.  That  the  Russians  committed  any  real 
atrocities  is  specifically  and  unequivocally  denied  by  Englishmen  of 
high  station,  whose  positions  guaranteed  their  general  impartiality, 
and  whose  association  with  the  Turks  made  it  impossible  that  they 
could  be  in  collusion  or  sympathy  with  the  Russians.  The  single  act 
of  firing  on  the  flag  of  truce  at  Kars  was  clearly  established ;  but  the 


444 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


fact  appears  in  connection  with  the  evidence  in  this  case,  that  a  few 
days  before  that  event,  the  Turks  had  killed  a  Russian  doctor  who 
carried  the  Geneva  cross  above  his  head  and  wore  a  white  badge  on 
his  arm,  and  that  a  Turkish  sergeant  had  gone  about  Kars  boasting 
that  "  he  had  killed  the  Russian  doctor  by  cutting  off  his  head  as 
he  would  that  of  a  sheep."  For  the  rest,  an  English  telegram  from 
Kars  at  the  beginning  of  August  stated  that  the  stories  were  utterly 
untrue ;  that  the  Russians  throughout  had  behaved  well ;  and  that 
the  Turkish  regulars  had  also  behaved  well,  but  the  irregulars,  Kurds 
and  Circassians  had  been  guilty  of  atrocities  past  belief,  despite  the 
most  laudable  efforts  of  Mukhtar  Pasha  to  restrain  them.  A  cor- 
respondent wrote  from  the  headquarters  of  the  Fourth  Turkish 
army  corps,  Camp  Kirk  Bunar,  July  6th :  "  I  have  now  for  the  last 
week  been  following  in  the  wake  of  the  retiring  Russian  army,  and 
can  see  no  traces  nor  hear  any  reports  of  any  such  misdeeds.  On 
the  contrary,  they  appear  to  have  behaved  with  the  greatest  moder- 
ation, and  paid  for  everything  they  consumed.  It  is  true  that  there 
is  a  great  scarcity  of  grain  in  the  villages  through  which  they  passed, 
but  this  is  accounted  for  by  their  large  force  of  cavalry  requiring 
enormous  supplies  of  this  commodity.  Fowls,  sheep,  goats,  and 
cattle  are  as  plentiful  in  the  district  recently  occupied  by  the  Rus- 
sians as  in  that  in  rear  of  the  late  Turkish  positions.  And  while  all 
over  the  Passin  plain  there  were  signs  of  misrule  and  piratical  vio- 
lence, and  loud  complaints  of  outrages  perpetrated  on  the  Christian 
populations,  outrages  of  which  it  is  not  well  to  speak,  here  all  is 
peace  and  plenty."  In  another  letter  the  same  correspondent  again 
makes  special  mention  of  the  quantities  of  live  stock  and  poultry 
throughout  the  district  which  the  Russians  had  occupied,  and  adds : 
"  The  corn  is  now  full  in  ear,  and  shows  plainly  that  the  Russian 
troops  carefully  avoided  trampling  down  the  crops,  while  the  abun- 
dance of  rouble  notes,  for  which  the  villagers  refuse  to  take  less 
than  their  full  value,  is  sufficient  evidence  that  Loris  MelikoiFs 
army  possesses  sufficient  discipline  to  respect  the  property  of  harm- 
less villagers,  and  that  his  men  pay  for  all  they  take.  Very  differ- 
ent is  the  sight  when  we  approach  Christian  villages.  These  are 
considered  fair  fields  for  pillage  by  the  irregular  horsemen  of  the 
Turkish  army,  and  I  regret  to  say  that  these  disgraceful  proceedings 
are  not  checked  in  any  way  by  the  officers  of  the  army." 

Near  the  spot  where  these  letters  were  written  was  the  village  of 
Beg  Mehined,  where  the  Russians  had  inflicted  the  great  surprise 


THE  A  TROCITIES  OF  THE  WAR.  44$ 

upon  four  thousand  Circassian  cavalry  on  the  29th  of  May.  A  part 
of  the  Circassians  had  returned  to  the  village  "  when  the  coast  was 
clear,"  and  accusing  the  Christian  inhabitants  of  having  given  in- 
formation to  the  enemy,  massacred  thirty-one  men  in  cold  blood. 
When  the  correspondent  with  the  army  passed  through  the  village, 
"  the  place  was  completely  deserted,  doors  of  granaries  burst  open, 
the  contents  spilt  over  the  road,"  and  the  soldiers  were  busy  gather- 
ing the  grain  and  straw  and  whatever  they  could  lay  their  hands 
upon. 

The  British  Consul  at  Erzerum,  reported  officially  to  Lord  Derby 
that  the  conduct  of  the  Russian  troops  toward  the  inhabitants  had 
been  humane  and  just,  alike  to  Mussulmans  and  Christians. 
Severity,  he  admitted,  had  sometimes  been  employed,  but  only 
when  villagers  had  provoked  it  by  trying  to  escape  from  the  villages 
after  having  been  told  that  by  remaining  in  their  homes  and  attend- 
ing to  their  labors  they  would  be  protected  and  cared  for.  The 
Consul  further  stated  that  he  had  read  with  surprise  the  protest  en- 
tered by  the  Porte  against  the  Russians  for  atrocities  committed  in 
Asia  Minor,  and  was  inclined  to  believe  that  the  Turks  desired  to 
publish  as  atrocities  the  hanging  and  shooting,  by  order  of  Russian 
commanders,  of  several  Kurds  who  were  executed  for  committing 
the  worst  of  crimes. 

A  correspondent  of  the  London  Times,  writing  from  Erzerum 
on  the  31st  of  August,  stated  that  he  had  been  unable  to  get  any 
confirmation  of  Ismail  Pasha's  reports  of  Russian  atrocities  in  the 
Alashgerd  plain.  Both  Mohammedans  and  Armenians  maintained 
that  they  had  been  treated  with  consideration  and  kindness  by  Ter- 
gukassoifs  column,  and  that  it  was  not  until  after  the  Russians  had 
fallen  back  from  Zeidekan,  that  they  were  exposed  to  the  cruelties 
spoken  of  by  Ismail  Kurd  Pasha,  and  that  "  these  acts  were  one  and 
all  committed  by  Kurds,  and  not  by  Russians." 

The  Russian  side  of  the  case  was  represented  in  the  following 
language  in  a  statement  made  by  Gen.  Melikoff  to  a  correspondent 
early  in  July  : 

"  "Warfare  here  is  very  different  from  what  it  is  in  Europe. 
Among  our  enemy  we  have,  no  doubt,  many  who  are  thoroughly 
civilized.  But  there  are  also  Kurds  and  Bashi-Bazouks,  and,  as  a 
general  rule,  we  can  not  trust  to  the  humanity  of  our  foes.  Now, 
this  has  crippled  my  actions  very  materially.  Had  we  been  at  war 
with  civilized  people,  I  would  have  written  a  letter  to  inform  the 


446  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

authorities  that  I  had  left  so  many  hundred  wounded  in  such  and 
such  a  village,  and  requested  that  their  persons  should  be  respected. 
But  here  it  would  be  madness  to  trust  to  them  in  that  way,  and  so  I 
was  obliged  to  retreat.  Otherwise,  I  assure  you,  I  should  have  ad- 
vanced, and  by  this  time  would  have  been  before  Erzerum.  In  this 
way  the  Turks  have  a  great  advantage  over  us,  which  is  totally 
one-sided ;  for  we,  on  the  contrary,  take  as  great  care  of  Turkish 
wounded  prisoners  as  of  our  own  men.  For  example,  at  Ardahan 
we  found  an  hospital  with  800  Turks.  They  were  totally  destitute 
of  medical  appliances ;  and  although  my  stores  of  bandages  and 
medicines  were  insufficient  for  my  own  uses,  I  gave  orders  that 
everything  should  be  divided  impartially  between  the  two  nationali- 
ties. So  that  you  see  we  are  always  fighting  at  a  disadvantage,  even 
when  we  are  equal  in  numbers." 

After  his  victories  in  the  summer,  Mukhtar  Pasha  issued  a  proc- 
lamation to  the  soldiers  and  irregulars  of  the  army  operating  on 
the  frontiers  of  Yan  and  Bayazid,  in  anticipation  of  their  crossing 
the  frontiers,  on  the  subject  of  the  behavior  they  ought  to  practice 
toward  the  enemy  and  the  people  of  the  country.  He  expected 
every  one  "  to  comport  himself  with  mildness  toward  the  oppressed 
inhabitants  of  the  country  of  Erivan  "  (the  Russian  province),  and 
exhorted  the  soldiers,  in  conformity  to  their  "  good  sentiments  and 
traditional  generosity,"  "  to  abstain  from  every  act  having  for  its 
object  to  satisfy  the  passions."  He  instructed  them  that  they  should 
never  causelessly  take  the  life  of  a  human  being  ;  should  take  care 
never  to  cause  any  injury  to  those  who  should  ask  mercy  at  their 
hands,  to  prisoners,  or  to  deserters,  unless  they  should  commit  acts 
which  would  render  their  destruction  necessary,  but  should  conduct 
the  wounded  among  them  to  the  hospitals  ;  that  they  should  respect 
the  property,  the  honor,  and  the  houses  of  the  inhabitants  ;  should 
abstain  from  every  blameable  action  which  is  forbidden  by  the  Holy 
law  and  the  rules  of  generosity,  and  from  every  kind  of  disorder — 
as  the  setting  on  fire  and  destruction  of  stations,  of  straw  and  hay — 
and  should  be  careful  not  to  exceed  the  bounds  of  the  law  in  carry- 
ing off  booty.  By  their  obeying  these  exhortations,  he  hoped  their 
names  would  embellish  the  future  history  of  Caucasia,  and  that  by 
teaching  with  good  examples  civilization  and  humanity,  they  would 
"  bring  the  torch  of  justice  into  those  regions  now  covered  with 
darkness." 

Accusations  that  the  Russians  had  perpetrated  acts  of  severity  in 


THE  A  TROCITIES  OF  THE  WAR. 


447 


repressing  the  Abkhasian  insurrection,  were  made  in  a  document 
which  was  published  in  July,  under  the  signature  of  a  Turkish  chief 
of  staff,  the  essential  points  of  which  may  be  summarized  as  follows  : 
That  the  Russians  had  burnt  all  the  villages  in  the  country ;  that 
they  had  fired  upon  the  hospitals  established  at  Otcheratchiri ;  that 
they  had  left  the  Turkish  dead  unburied,  and  eventually  burnt  them  ;  . 
and  that  they  had  no  prisoners,  having  killed  all  the  wounded  whom 
they  took.  The  truth  of  these  charges  was  admitted  by  implication. 
They  were  not  denied,  but  were  explained.  The  villages  were 
burnt ;  as  to  the  firing  upon  the  hospitals,  it  was  suggested  that  the 
proper  steps  had  not  been  taken  to  make  the  position  of  the  hospi- 
tals known  to  the  Russians  ;  the  Turkish  dead  lay  between  the  two 
armies  on  the  other  side  of  a  river  from  the  Russians ;  they  were 
not  buried  by  either  side,  and,  becoming  offensive,  the  Russians 
placed  dry  wood  over  the  corpses,  and  they  were  burned ;  and, 
lastly,  it  was  the  rule  to  take  no  Abkhazians  prisoners,  but  to  shoot 
or  bayonet  them  as  rebels. 

Mr.  Layard,  the  British  Minister  at  Constantinople,  wrote  to  the 
British  Foreign  Office,  July  10th,  that  the  accounts  of  the  shocking 
treatment  by  the  Russian  authorities  and  troops  of  many  villages  in 
Circassia,  on  the  approach  of  the  Turkish  forces,  Came  from  so  many 
independent  sources,  that  their  general  truth  could  scarcely  be  called 
in  question.  It  does  not  appear,  however,  that  these  offenses  were 
of  a  nature  different  from  those  specified  above,  which  come  under 
the  head  rather  of  barbarous  severities  to  rebellious  subjects  than  of 
wanton  atrocities. 

The  war  in  Europe  was  accompanied  during  the  summer  of  1877 
by  a  series  of  massacres  and  reprisals  in  which  the  scenes  of  1876 
were  re-enacted  by  Moslems  on  one  side,  and  Bulgarians  on  the 
other,  till  the  fairest  parts  of  Bulgaria  south  of  the  Balkans  were 
made  an  uninhabited  waste.  Charges  of  disregard  of  the  laws  of 
war  and  of  the  sanctity  of  hospitals  and  the  property  of  neutrals 
were  also  brought,  in  several  instances,  against  the  Russians  and 
their  allies  with  such  directness  and  force  of  testimony  that  they 
could  not  be  escaped. 

On  the  27th  of  May,  the  Rumanian  batteries  at  Kalafat  directed 
their  fire  at  the  principal  Turkish  hospital  in  Widin,  although  its 
position  was  pointed  out  by  the  flag  of  the  Red  Crescent.  Several 
sick  and  wounded  soldiers  were  killed  or  injured.  During  the  bom- 
bardment of  Rustchuk,  in  the  latter  part  of  June,  the  Russian  bat- 


448  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

teries  were  aimed  directly  upon  the  French  and  English  Consulates, 
the  latter  of  which  was  destroyed,  and  upon  the  hospitals.  When 
the  attack  was  begun  on  the  British  Consulate,  the  Consul  thought 
that  the  Russians  did  not  see  his  flag,  and  put  up  a  larger  one,  but 
the  building  was  a  wreck  in  half  an  hour  afterward,  and  all  of  the 
furniture  was  broken  up.  This  was  continued  for  two  or  three  days. 
The  actuality  of  the  damage  done  to  neutral  property  is  attested  by 
pictures  which  were  taken  of  the  destroyed  buildings  and  published 
in  the  illustrated  papers.  The  Turks,  in  return,  made  a  vigorous 
fire  upon  Giurgevo,  and'  destroyed  the  town,  not  sparing  the 
hospitals. 

From  the  beginning  of  July,  stories  of  atrocities  committed  in 
Bulgaria  by  the  followers  of  either  side — now  by  Christians  on  Mo- 
hammedans, now  by  Mohammedans  on  Christians — were  narrated 
with  great  volubility,  and  filled  all  the  papers.  Many  of  them  were 
sheer  fabrications  or  enormous  exaggerations.  It  was  stated,  on  un- 
doubted authority,  that  the  manufacture  of  reports  of  atrocities  had 
become  a  distinct  business  within  the  lines  of  both  parties,  and  the 
stories  were  palmed  off  upon  whatever  correspondents  could  be  in- 
duced to  send  them,  or  were  forged  and  sent  off  in  the  names  of 
correspondents  without  their  knowledge.  Many  of  these  stories 
were  taken  up  by  the  English  newspapers  and  repeated  and  com- 
mented upon  without  discrimination  or  extenuation,  for  partisan 
purposes.  But  after  ample  allowance  is  made  for  the  tales  that  failed 
to  be  substantiated,  or  were  disproved,  the  record  of  fully  authenti- 
cated instances  of  wanton  destruction  and  murder  must  constitute 
one  of  the  darkest  chapters  in  the  history  of  savage  lust  and  ven- 
geance. The  first  accusations  were  brought  against  the  Russians 
and  Bulgarians ;  and  it  is  proved  by  an  accumulation  of  indisputable 
testimony  that  the  Bulgarians  took  advantage  of  the  presence  and 
protection  of  the  Russian  troops  while  they  occupied  the  country 
south  of  the  Balkans  to  make  reprisals  on  their  Mussulman  neigh- 
bors for  the  insults  they  had  had  to  endure  from  them,  and  to  avenge 
themselves  for  the  jnassacres  of  1876. 

An  official  statement  made  by  the  Turkish  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  on  the  22d  of  July,  recited,  as  established  facts,  that  a 
mosque  where  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  of  Tiamsikoi  had  taken 
refuge  upon  the  occupation  of  Tirnova  by  the  Russians  and  Bulga- 
rians was  burned,  with  all  of  the  refugees  within  it ;  and  that  twelve 
unarmed  Mussulmans,  inhabitants  of  the  village  of  Soukoulan,  near 


THE  A  TROCITIES  OF  THE  WAR.  449 

Eski  Sagra,  having  surrendered  to  the  Russians,  seven  of  them  were 
massacred  with  axes  by  the  Bulgarians,  and  three  others  by  the  Cos- 
sacks; and  added  the  result  of  an  estimate  which  had  been  made  as 
exact  as  possible  of  the  number  of  houses  destroyed  by  fire,  and  of 
the  Mussulman  inhabitants  killed  by  the  Russians  and  Bulgarians  in 
the  villages  which,  to  the  date  of  the  dispatch,  had  suffered  by  the 
invasion,  as  follows : 

"  First — At  Batak,  a  village  exclusively  Mohammedan,  in  the  dis- 
trict of  Sistova,  100  houses  were  burned ;  200  men  and  300  women 
perished  ;  total,  500  victims.  It  is  believed  that  seven  inhabitants 
survived. 

"  Second — At  Balovan,  a  Mussulman  village  in  the  district  of  Tir- 
nova,  250  houses  were  burned;  TOO  men  and  1,200  women  per- 
ished— in  all,  1,900  victims.  One  person  only,  it  is  believed,  escaped 
from  the  massacre. 

"  Third — At  Caba-Bonnas,  100  houses  were  burned ;  200  men  and 
300  women  perished;  total,  500  victims.  Two  persons  escaped 
alive. 

"Fourth — At  Kestambol,  150  houses  were  burned ;  300  men  and 
600  women  perished ;  total,  900  victims. 

"  Fifth — At  Chems,  a  mixed  village,  60  Mussulman  houses  were 
destroyed;  120  men  and  200  women  perished;  total,  320  victims. 
One  person  only  escaped. 

"Sixth — At  Tundja,  a  mixed  village,  100  houses  were  destroyed; 
250  men  and  400  women  perished ;  total,  650  victims.  Only  three 
survivors." 

A  statement  followed,  asserting  that  820  houses  had  been  set  on 
fire  in  seven  villages,  which  had  been  abandoned  by  the  inhabitants 
before  the  enemy's  arrival.  On  the  24th,  the  Governor-General  of 
the  vilayet  of  the  Danube  telegraphed  that  on  the  preceding  Sun- 
day some  Russians  and  Bulgarians  had  massacred  every  inhabitant, 
except  three  women  and  two  men,  of  the  village  of  Yenikoi,  eight 
hours  distant  from  Osman  Bazar,  and  that  they  had  killed  five  per- 
sons in  the  village  of  Kost,  nine  hours  distant  from  the  same  city. 
Another  official  circular  asserted  that  the  Russians  and  Bulgarians 
had  burned  all  the  men  and  a  part  of  the  women  of  the  village  of 
Herste ;  that  seventy  Mussulmans  and  the  Imam  of  Dalioka  had 
been  shut  up  by  the  Bulgarians  and  Cossacks  in  a  granary,  and 
burned  ;  forty  other  Mussulmans  of  the  same  village  had  been  mas- 
sacred, the  women  outraged,  and  the  greater  part  of  them  then  led, 


450 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


with  their  children,  to  the  outskirts  of  the  village,  and  assassinated  ; 
and  that,  after  all  the  Mussulmans  of  Eski  Sagra,  Kasanlik,  and  the 
neighboring  villages  had  been,  disarmed,  the  Bulgarians,  having 
their  arms,  massacred  400  Mussulmans  of  Maglis,  in  the  district  of 
Kasanlik.  Other  official  circulars  described  numerous  outrages, 
which  were  alleged  to  have  been  committed  by  Bulgarians  in  the 
district  of  Kasanlik,  and  that  they  had  disarmed  all  the  Mussulmans 
of  a  number  of  villages  in  the  neighborhood  of  Kasanlik,  and, "  af  cer 
shutting  them  all  up — men,  women,  and  children — in  a  mosque, 
they  tied  them  together  by  the  arms,  by  means  of  their  belts,  and 
then  stabbed  them  to  death."  Later  dispatches,  issued  from  time  to 
time,  gave  accounts  of  murders  and  pillaging  at  Tirnova,  Sistova, 
and  numerous  other  places,  which  had  been  occupied  by  the  Kus- 
sians. 

A  large  number  of  the  Turkish  stories  of  outrages,  said  to  have 
been  committed  by  their  adversaries,  stand  unproved;  many  of 
them  appear  to  be  exaggerations  of  acts  of  heated  violence ;  some 
of  them  have  been  contradicted  and  disproved ;  but  many  of  them 
have  been  circumstantially  confirmed.  A  correspondent  of  the 
Neue  Freie  Presae  of  Yienna,  a  journal  friendly  to  the  Russians, 
describes  the  massacre  at  Batak,  which  is  mentioned  in  the  Turkish 
official  dispatches,  as  having  occurred  just  after  a  street  fight,  in 
which  the  Bulgarian  inhabitants  were  driven  out  by  the  Moslems. 
Half  an  hour  afterward,  the  Cossacks  entered  the  town,  and  began 
an  onslaught  on  the  Turkish  population.  According  to  the  testi- 
mony of  eye-witnesses,  who  escaped  the  massacre,  even  the  Bul- 
garian women  urged  on  the  slaughter,  and  took  part  in  it.  This 
Batak  is  not  the  village  where  the  massacre  of  1876  occurred,  but 
is  in  another  district.  The  same  correspondent  described  the  Bul- 
garian women  at  Diskot  as  leading  the  mob  of  murderers,  collecting 
the  bodies  of  the  murdered  Turkish  women  and  girls,  and  piling 
them  in  front  of  the  house  of  the  Mudir,  and  dancing  npon  them. 

Upon  the  capture  of  Nicopolis,  the  mob  rushed  through  the 
streets,  murdering  all  the  men  who  resisted,  arid  committing  barbar- 
ities on  the  women  and  children.  In  one  quarter  of  the  city,  where 
the  more  fanatical  Moslems  dwelt,  not  a  house  was  left  without 
damage,  and  hardly  a  citizen  could  be  found  who  had  not  been  mal- 
treated. On  the  day  following  the  capture,  the  town  was  plun- 
dered. 

A  correspondent   of  the  London  Times  visited  the  village  of 


THE  A  TROCITIES  OF  THE  WAR,  45  r 

Offandlik,  near  Kasanlik,  and  saw  evidences  that  a  massacre  had 
been  committed,  in  the  shape  of  the  body  of  a  beautiful  yonng 
woman,  who  had  been  murdered  and  cast  away,  and  in  the  remains 
of  women  and  children  which  had  been  thrown  into  a  well.  The 
people  who  remained  in  the  place  said  that  the  Bulgarians,  with  a 
few  Cossacks,  had  visited  the  place  after  the  retreat  of  the  regular 
Russian  army,  had  taken  the  men  outside  of  the  village  and  shot 
them,  had  collected  the  women  and  children  in  one  of  the  large 
houses,  where  they  outraged  them  repeatedly,  and  had  "  continued 
pillaging  and  burning,  and  occasionally  killing  anybody  they 
found."  On  his  way  back  to  the  Turkish  camp,  the  correspondent 
"  came  across  upward  of  120  dead  Turks,  who  had  all  been  mas- 
sacred by  bayonet  or  sword,  or  shot  suddenly.  They  were  lying 
in  groups,  in  one  place  forty,  in  another  fifty,  and  two  or  three 
smaller  parties/'  Among  them  were  one  woman  and  several  old 
men. 

The  work  of  destruction  at  Sistova  after  its  capture  was  thorough- 
ly done.  The  correspondent  of  the  London  Times  wrote  :  "  When 
I  entered  the  Turkish  quarter  of  the  town  (which  has  been  deserted) 
I  found  that  the  pillagers  had  been  there.  Turkish  books  and  manu- 
scripts littered  the  streets  ;  the  Moslem  houses  and  shops  were  minus 
doors  and  windows,  and  their  interiors  were  empty.  I  visited  a 
mosque,  and  found  little  Bulgarian  children  gathering  firewood  from 
the  mass  of  splinters  and  woodwork  which  covered  the  floor.  Upon  in- 
quiry, I  found  that  the  Russian  soldiers  and  Bulgarian  residents  were 
about  equally  responsible  for  these  l  vandalisms.'  "  The  correspond- 
ent of  the  New  York  Times,  who  also  visited  the  place,  gave  a  further 
description  of  the  desolation  : 

"  I  have  been  all  through  the  original  Turkish  quarter,  where  the 
Pasha's  Konak  and  the  palace  of  a  wealthy  Osmanli,  with  its  high 
walls  and  grated  windows,  have  been  occupied  by  the  Russian  au- 
thorities. Every  other  house  lies  open  to  inspection,  for  the  Bul- 
garians finished  the  work  of  destruction  commenced  by  the  Musco- 
vite soldiery.  It  was  natural  enough,  too  ;  the  latter  came  in  with, 
their  blood  up  from  the  fight,  and  the  rayahs,  as  liberated  slaves,, 
sought  to  vent  their  fury  upon  their  former  masters.  The  negroes-- 
did  it  at  San  Domingo,  and  there  is  no  negro  fresh  from  the  shores, 
of  the  Congo  whom  I  would  insult  by  comparing  him  socially  or  in> 
tellectually  with  a  home-bred  Bulgarian.  There  were  some  horrid 
scenes,  they  tell  me,  in  Sistova  on  the  morrow  of  the  assault,  and  for 
24 


452 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


days  after,  and  Turks  were  hunted  out  of  their  hiding-places  and  shot 
down  like  dogs,  and  rape  and  murder  and  pillage,  and  every  foul  deed 
which  lust  and  brutality  could  imagine,  was  perpetrated,  under  the 
eyes  of  the  Russian  officers,  until  there  was  nothing  left  wherewith 
to  reproach  the  Osmanli  for  last  summer's  atrocities,  except,  it  may 
be,  the  number  of  the  victims.  When  human  victims  were  want- 
ing to  their  vengeance  they  wreaked  it  upon  ir.  animate  things ;  every 
house,  from  cellar  to  roof,  has  been  gutted;  chimney-places  and 
walls  have  been  demolished,  floors  torn  up  in  search  of  concealed 
treasure.  Handfuls  of  wool,  bundles  of  rags  of  every  sort  and  color, 
the  accumulations  of  generations  of  Osmanli  for  the  stuffing  of  their 
traditional  divans,  are  scattered  about  the  rooms  like  a  thick  carpet, 
or  lie  in  heaps  in  the  streets  and  gardens,  where  even  the  fruit  trees 
have  been  chopped  and  hacked  simply  because  they  were  once  dear 
to  the  Moslem." 

On  the  17th  of  July  seventeen  victims  were  collected  in  the  hos- 
pital at  Rasgrad,  all  bearing  evidence  of  wounds  inflicted  by  Rus- 
sian soldiery.  The  correspondent  who  saw  them,  and  who  tells  the 
story,  says  that  with  what  degree  of  thoroughness  the  injuries  upon 
these  poor  people  were  inflicted,  "  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact 
that  the  seventeen  victims  showed  a  total  of  thirty-six  wounds.  Of 
these,  for  example,  a  little  girl  of  six  years  bore  four.  It  would, 
therefore,  appear  that  the  murderers  went  to  work  in  cold  blood,  and 
were  not  content  with  killing  er  wounding  at  the  first  stroke.  These 
seventeen  victims  of  Russian  barbarity  belonged  to  a  band  of  fugi- 
tives from  Ablava,  who,  on  the  30th  of  June,  were  hurrying  away 
to  Rustchuk  in  a  train  of  forty  wagons,  having  received  intimation 
of  the  atrocities  which  the  advancing  Russians  were  perpetrating  in 
other  places.  The  hostile  horsemen  had  overtaken  the  fugitives  on 
their  way,  and  straightway  began  the  human  slaughter.  Thirty-five 
poor  people  were  killed  on  the  spot,  and  the  seventeen  wounded 
creatures  here  are  part  of  those  who  escaped  with  a  little  remnant  of 
life."  The  wounds  were  from  sabre  strokes,  lance-thrusts,  and  pistol 
shots. 

At  about  the  same  time  the  hospital  at  Shumla  contained  forty 
wounded  persons,  among  whom  were  old  women  and  children,  and 
even  sucking  babes,  one  of  the  last  bearing  six  wounds.  On  the  21st 
of  July,  the  Turkish  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  published  officially 
a  statement,  which  h  id  been  drawn  up  and  signed  by  all  the  news- 
paper correspondents  at  Shumla,  embracing  the  representatives  of 


THE  ATROCITIES  OF  THE  WAR.  453 

seventeen  leading  papers  of  Germany,  Austria,  Hungary,  France, 
England,  Scotland,  and  the  United  States,  reciting  that  "  they  de- 
clare that  they  have  with  their  own  eyes  seen  and  have  interrogated, 
both  at  Rasgrad  and  at  Shumla,  women,  children,  and  old  men 
wounded  by  lance  and  sword-thrusts,  not  to  speak  of  injuries  from 
firearms,  which  might  be  attributed  to  the  accidents  of  legitimate 
war.  These  victims  give  horrible  accounts  of  the  treatment  the  ".Rus- 
sian troops,  and  sometimes  even  the  Bulgarians,  inflict  on  the  fugi- 
tive Mussulmans.  According  to  their  declarations  the  entire  Mus- 
sulman population  of  several  villages  have  been  massacred.  Every 
day  there  are  fresh  arrivals  of  wounded.  The  undersigned  declare 
that  women  and  children  are  the  most  numerous  among  the  victims, 
and  that  they  bear  lance  wounds." 

According  to  a  report  made  by  Lieut.-Col.  Wellesley,  British  Mili- 
tary Attache  at  the  Russian  headquarters,  the  Russian  officers  ac- 
counted for  the  condition  of  these  creatures  by  stating  that  some 
Russian  cavalry  had  come  across  what  they  considered  to  be  a  Turk- 
ish convoy  leaving  Rustchuk,  and  summoned  it  to  surrender.  The 
Turks  replied  by  firing  on  the  cavalry,  and  women  and  children 
might  easily  have  been  wounded  in  the  skirmish  which  ensued,  for 
the  supposed  convoy  proved  to  be  a  caravan  of  Turkish  peasants 
leaving  Rustchuk  with  their  household  goods.  The  Emperor  had 
given  orders  to  have  the  affair  investigated. 

One  of  the  correspondents  wjio  signed  the  circular  at  Shumla,  after- 
ward caused  it  to  be  published  that  one  of  the  wounded  women  had 
confessed  to  him,  that  the  attack  upon  them  was  made  by  Bulgarians, 
not  by  Cossacks,  but  that  they  had  been  told  to  say  that  it  was  by 
the  latter. 

The  occupation  of  Eski  Sagra  by  the  Russians  on  the  22d  of  July 
was  hailed  by  the  Bulgarian  population  with  wild  enthusiasm.  They 
took  the  management  of  affairs  into  their  own  hands,  organized  a 
provincial  government,  and  proceeded  forthwith  to  make  reprisals  on 
the  Turks  for  all  the  wrongs  they  had  suffered  during  centuries  of 
misgovernment.  A  court-martial  was  instituted,  before  which  ob- 
noxious Turks  were  tried  and  condemned.  Six  were  hanged  and 
four  shot  in  one  day,  and  executions  followed  on  the  succeeding 
days,  until,  it  is  said,  "  At  last  the  Turks  were  taken  out  of  the  city 
and  killed  by  any  Bulgarian  who  chose  to  do  so,  without  form  or 
trial,"  until  the  slaughter  was  stopped  by  an  order  prohibiting  sum- 
mary executions.  The  sale  of  food  to  the  Turks  was  prohibited, 


454  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

and  the  houses  and  shops  of  the  Moslems  were  pillaged  by  the  rab- 
ble. This  state  of  affairs  continued  for  eleven  days,  during  which, 
according  to  the  Turkish  accounts,  1,100  Mussulmans  were  put  to 
death,  till  the  attack  was  made  on  the  Russian  positions  before  the 
town  on  the  31st  of  July,  when  panic  and  confusion  set  in  among 
the  Bulgarian  citizens.  The  utmost  terror  took  the  place  of  the  ex- 
ultation which  they  had  felt,  and  the  whole  population,  or  all  who 
could  get  away,  fled  incontinently  from  the  city.  The  Bulgarian 
volunteers  who  were  fighting  in  the  lines  outside,  having  orders  to 
defend  the  town,  bravely  resisted  the  advance  of  the  Turks,  falling 
back  step  by  step,  and  continued  to  fight  in  the  streets  until  they 
were  overpowered.  The  Turkish  citizens  did  not  wait  till  their 
army  had  entered  the  place,  but  anticipating  that  event,  came  out 
from  their  hiding-places  and  proceeded  to  attack  the  Bulgarian 
houses.  Pillaging  and  massacre  prevailed  through  the  day  and 
night.  All  Bulgarian  men  were  killed  at  sight,  while  as  a  rule, 
women  and  children  were  spared.  On  the  next  day,  Suleiman 
Pasha,  the  Turkish  commander,  ordered  all  the  Moslems  and  Jews 
to  leave  the  place,  taking  with  them  their  property.  He  then  set  fire 
to  the  town,  and  it  was  completely  destroyed. 

Nearly  all  of  the  outrages  committed  on  the  Russian  side  were 
perpetrated  by  Bulgarians.  Some  of  them,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
women  in  the  hospitals  at  Rasgrad  and  Shumla,  were  traced  appar- 
ently, but  not  conclusively,  to  the  Russian  cavalry  and  Cossacks. 
There  seem  to  be  a  few  plausible  grounds  for  the  assertion  which  was 
made,  that  the  Russians  countenanced,  if  they  did  not  encourage,  the 
pillaging  which  took  place  in  some  of  the  larger  towns,  as  at  Sistova 
and  Eski  Sagra.  The  Russian  higher  officers  disclaimed  all  responsi- 
bility for  the  more  atrocious  acts  of  massacre  and  mutilation,  and  pro- 
fessed on  all  occasions  an  anxiety  to  repress  them,  and  to  inflict  rig- 
orous punishment  upon  any  of  their  soldieiy,  against  whom  acts 
contrary  to  the  usages  of  civilized  war  could  be  proved. 

The  Turks  had  a  theory  upon  which  they  made  the  Russians  re- 
sponsible for  all,  even  the  worst  acts,  even  when  they  were  commit- 
ted, as  were  several  of  the  massacres,  by  Bulgarians,  far  from  their 
lines.  They  charged  that  the  whole  process  of  instigating  riot,  pil- 
lage, and  massacre  was  conducted  systematically  by  the  Russians, 
after  a  regularly  formed  plan.  On  the  arrival  of  a  column  into 
a  village,  notice  would  be  given  that  the  safety  of  the  Mussulman 
population  would  be  guaranteed.  As  soon  as  the  headquarters  of 


THE  ATROCITIES  OF  THE  WAR.  455 

the  commanding  officer  were  established,  the  Mussulman  inhabitants, 
consisting  chiefly  of  women  and  children — for  all  the  able-bodied 
men  were  in  the  army — would  be  gathered  in  a  distant  quarter,  un- 
der guard,  while  the  houses  were  searched  for  concealed  arms  and 
stowaways.  Then  the  regular  troops  would  be  withdrawn,  the 
commanders  washing  their  hands  of  future  consequences,  and  a  few 
hours  afterward,  the  massacres  by  Cossacks  and  Bulgarians  would 
commence.  The  foreigners  and  newspaper  correspondents  having 
been  all  the  time  with  the  regular  force,  would  see  nothing  of  the 
disorderly  proceedings  which  followed  the  withdrawal  of  the  troops, 
and  would  neither  be  able  to  bear  witness  to  them  nor  to  contradict 
the  Russian  denials,  but  would  always  be  able  to  say  that  the  Rus- 
sian regular  troops  were  not  guilty  of  disorders. 

Admitting  that  the  Russian  treatment  of  hostile  populations  was 
severe,  and  that  their  prisoners  were  not  as  well  cared  for  as  they 
might  have  been  under  better  circumstances  of  provision  and  trans- 
portation, the  fact  remains  that  a  careful  examination  of  all  the  in- 
cidents of  the  war  has  failed  to  bring  home  to  them  a  single  sub- 
stantiated instance  of  atrocity  against  them,  and  hardly  one  of  cruelty 
which  may  not  find  some  sort  of  an  excuse  in  the  circumstances  of 
the  case.  The  character  which  is  given  of  their  treatment  of  the 
Turks,  by  correspondents  in  Asia,  is  confirmed  by  the  accounts  of 
correspondents  in  Europe.  Except  as  to  the  case  of  the  wounded 
women  at  Rasgrad  and  Shumla,  no  charge  of  outrage  made  against 
the  Cossacks  has  been  substantiated  with  proof  sufficient  to  give  it 
even  probability.  Mr.  Archibald  Forbes,  who  accompanied  the 
Russians  in  their  campaigns  north  of  the  Balkans,  as  correspondent 
of  the  London  Daily  News,  published  in  the  Nineteenth,  Century 
for  November,  18T7,  a  careful  review  of  the  question  of  atrocities, 
in  which  he  strenuously  denied  that  the  Russian  soldiery  were  ever 
guilty  of  them.  "  On  soul  and  conscience,"  he  said,  "  I  believe  the 
allegations  thereof  to  be  utterly  false.  Of  all  events  which  occurred 
south  of  the  Balkans,  I  have  merely  hearsay  knowledge.  '  Atrocities ' 
in  plenty  were,  however,  charged  against  the  Russians  north  of  the 
Balkans,  and  respecting  these  I  can  speak  from  a  wide  range  of 
personal  experience.  The  Turks  resident  in  the  towns  and  villages 
of  Bulgaria  were  peremptorily  enjoined,  by  commands  from  Constan- 
tinople, to  quit  their  homes  and  retire  before  the  advancing  Russians. 
In  the  great  majority  of  cases  they  did  so,  and  their  evacuation  was 
accomplished  before  the  first  Russian  reached  the  vicinage  of  their 


456  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

abodes.  This  was  so  at  Sistova,  at  Batak,  and  at  many  other  places 
where  murder  and  rapine  were  systematically  and  lyingly  averred 
against  the  Russian  soldiers.  The  Turks  who  anywhere  chose  to 

remain  were  unmolested,  without  exception,  so  far  as  I  know 

Constantly  accompanying  Cossacks  and  other  Russian  cavalry  in 
reconnoissances  in  front  of  the  Rustchuk  army,  I  never  noticed  any 
disposition  to  be  cruel.  I  do  not  aver,  remember,  that  atrocities 
were  not  committed  on  fugitive  Turks ;  but  not  by  the  Russians. 
North  of  the  Balkans,  at  least,  Cossack  lances  and  Russian  sabres 
wrought  no  barbarity  on  defenseless  men,  women,  and  children." 

The  views  of  Mr.  Forbes  on  this  subject  are  corroborated  by  a 
report  which  Lieutenant-Colonel  Wellesley,  a  special  attache  of  the 
British  Government  at  the  Russian  headquarters  in  Bulgaria,  made 
to  Earl  Derby  on  the  6th  of  August,  to  the  effect  that  the  result  of 
his  inquiries  among  Russians  and  Englishmen,  had  led  him  "  to  the 
honest  and  firm  conclusion,  that  the  statements  of  Russian  cruelties 
are  entirely  without  foundation."  Yet  he  believed  that  the  present 
war  was  one  in  which  little  quarter  was  given  or  expected  on  either 
side.  He  had  heard  of  incendiarism  and  plunder  by  Bulgarians,  but 
believed  that  the  Russians  tried  to  check  them,  and  he  had  known 
cases  where  Turkish  peasants  had  actually  applied  for  a  Cossack 
guard  to  protect  them  from  Bulgarian  attack. 

The  Bulgarian  population,  usually  so  peaceful  and  submissive 
that  it  had  become  a  reproach  to  them,  seem  to  have  been  excited  to 
frenzy  by  the  presence  of  the  Russians  among  them,  and  the  belief 
that  they  were  finally  delivered  from  the  Mohammedan  oppression 
under  which  they  had  suffered.  In  their  simplicity  and  ignorance 
they  thought  the  conquest  of  the  country  from  the  Turks  was  finally 
effected  as  soon  as  the  Russian  lines  had  reached  their  homes,  and  all 
that  they  had  to  do  was  to  possess  and  exercise  their  newly-gained 
liberties.  They  were  too  short-sighted  to  comprehend  that  it  was 
possible  for  the  tide  of  battle  to  turn,  the  Russians  be  driven  away, 
and  the  Turks  be  restored  to  mastery  over  them.  "With  the  ardor 
that  is  characteristic  of  such  peoples,  under  similar  circumstances, 
they  gave  themselves  up  to  unrestrained,  because  unaccustomed, 
license ;  with  only  the  single  thought  of  the  wrongs  they  had  suffered 
from  the  Turks,  they  set  out  to  take  vengeance,  and  make  to  them- 
selves restitution  for  them.  They  sincerely  thought  that  in  pillaging 
the  Turkish  homes,  they  were  only  getting  back  what  was  their  own, 
for  they  were  accustomed  to  reply,  when  spoken  to  on  the  subject, 


•;;  s||y!  ""•'•"••••. 


MADAME    CAMARA    AND    A    WOUNDED    CHILD. 


WOUNDED   TURKS   RETURNING    FROM    THE    BATTLE   OF    KASANLIK. 


THE  A  TROCITIES  OF  THE  WAR.  459 

that  all  that  the  Turks  had,  had  been  stolen  or  wrested  from  them, 
and  that  they  were  fairly  entitled  to  the  whole  of  it. 

The  dark  story  of  Bulgarian  excesses  is  relieved  by  a  few  acts 
showing  the  assertion  of  the  spirit  of  justice  amid  the  temptations 
to  rapine  and  revenge.  At  Tirnova,  the  people  took  a  pride  in 
trying  to  show  that  they  were  superior  in  civilization  to  the  Turks. 
Their  behavior  to  the  Turks  was  good,  aad  the  pillaging  soon  ceased. 
A  committee  was  formed  under  the  Archimandrite  to  watch  over 
Turkish  property,  and  special  constables  were  appointed  from  among 
the  young  men  of  the  town  to  help  them  in  this  work.  A  mixed 
commission  of  seven  Bulgarians  and  three  Turks  was  appointed  at 
Kasanlik,  who,  sitting  on  the  same  bench  together,  harmoniously 
and  impartially  adjudged  the  cases  which  were  brought  before  them 
solely  in  the  interests  of  good  order.  The  executions  which  took 
place  in  that  city  were  in  ace  rdance  with  sentences  inflicted  by 
this  commission.  The  missionaries  of  the  American  Board  at  Eski 
Sagra  remained  in  the  city  through  the  whole  conflict  ;  during  its 
occupation  by  the  Russians  and  its  recapture  by  the  Turks;  be- 
friended the  suffering  of  both  sides,  and  received  the  respect  and 
protection  of  both.  At  one  time  they  gave  shelter  to  some  Turks 
who  were  fleeing  from  the  Bulgarian  mob,  and  fed  some  of  their 
Moslem  neighbors  while  the  edict  against  selling  food  to  Mussul- 
mans was  in  force.  When  it  came  the  turn  of  the  Turk  to  pillage 
and  destroy,  these  Moslems  formed  a  guard  around  the  missionaries, 
defended  them  against  an  attack  by  the  Circassians,  and  finally  in- 
duced the  governor  of  the  city  to  provide  them  with  a  guard  of 
regular  soldiers.  At  Sistova  the  Kadi,  who  was  the  only  Turk  that 
remained  in  the  town,  was  treated  with  respect,  and  his  house  was 
not  molested. 

The  worst  atrocities  charged  against  Bulgarians  were  eclipsed,  in 
magnitude  and  heinousness,  as  well  as  in  number,  by  the  excesses 
in  which  the  Turks  indulged.  Terrible  as  are  the  stories  which  are 
told  of  their  march  of  devastation  through  Lower  Bulgaria  or 
Rmnelia,  there  is  no  lack  of  proof  of  the  worst  charges  that  are 
laid  against  them.  The  total  destruction  of  Eski  Sagra,  which  has 
been  already  recorded,  is  but  a  specimen  of  the  fate  which  overtook 
many  of  the  once  flourishing  cities  and  villages  of  the  country  of 
the  rose  gardens.  On  the  14th  of  July,  a  band  of  Bashi-Bazouks 
entered  the  town  of  Yeni  Sagra  and  warned  the  Moslem  population 
that  the  Russians  were  within  a  short  distance.  The  Moslems  all 


460  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

fled,  and  some  of  them  reaching  Constantinople  the  next  day,  re- 
ported that  the  Russians  were  driving  out  and  massacring  the 
people,  although  no  evidence  has  been  produced  that  anj  Russians 
were  actually  near  the  place.  The  Bashi-Bazouks  camped  during 
the  night  near  the  railway  station,  and  on  the  next  day  entered  the 
town,  plundered  the  bazars,  set  fire  to  the  place,  and  began  a  scene 
of  slaughter  which  lasted  twenty-four  hours.  How  many  were 
killed  can  not  be  exactly  ascertained,  for  they  were  left  to  lie  where 
they  fell,  in  their  private  gardens,  in  their  houses,  in  the  fields,  and 
of  those  who  fled  it  is  not  known  how  many  succeeded  in  escaping. 
The  place  was  visited  three  days  after  the  massacre  by  an  English 
correspondent,  accompanied  by  an  officer  of  the  English  Diplomatic 
service,  whose  search  showed  that  not  a  single  house  or  shop  had 
escaped  pillage.  "It  seems  incredible,"  the  correspondent  says, 
"  how  they  could  have  ransacked  the  place  so  completely  in  go  short 
a  time."  The  writer,  after  giving  a  description  in  detail  of  the 
murdered  bodies  and  hideous  sights  that  he  saw,  all  of  which 
formed  conclusive  evidence  to  him  that  there  had  been  "  a  foul 
massacre  of  Bulgarians  at  Yeni  Sagra,"  closed  his  account  by  stating 
that  he  had  not  mentioned  a  thing  that  he  had  not  personally  seen, 
and  that  he  could  substantiate  every  detail  by  witnesses  of  un- 
doubted integrity. 

Kavarna  is  a  town  on  the  Black  Sea,  near  Varna,  inhabited  by 
four  or  five  hundred  families,  mostly  Greeks,  of  more  than  usual 
intelligence.  In  addition  to  its  regular  population,  many  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  surrounding  country  had  come  into  it  for  refuge 
against  depredations.  The  Circassians  attacked  the  town  on  the 
21st  of  July,  and  were  met  by  a  vigorous  resistance.  A  proposition 
was  made  to  the  inhabitants  to  give  a  ransom  of  sixty  thousand 
piasters  or  abandon  the  place,  in  consideration  of  which  they  should 
be  spared.  While  this  was  under  discussion,  a  part  of  the  Circas- 
sians entered  the  town  and  began  a  course  of  plunder  and  murder 
which  continued  for  more  than  twelve  hours.  The  Turkish  Gov- 
ernor at  Yarna  was  appealed  to  while  the  massacre  was  going  on,  to 
send  a  force  to  save  the  people,  and  promised  to  do  so,  but  at  the 
same  time  attempted  to  excuse  the  massacre  by  saying  that  the 
Christians  at  Kavarna  ought  to  have  quitted  their  homes  rather 
than  repel  the  aggression  by  force  of  arms.  Two  vessels  with  troops 
were  sent,  which  reached  the  place  too  late,  the  Christians  assert,  to 
stop  the  massacre.  The  Turkish  official  report  claims  that  the  ves- 


THE  ATROCITIES  OF  THE  WAR.  461 

sels  arrived  in  good  time,  that  no  such  extensive  massacres  occurred 
as  were  reported,  and  that  the  whole  number  of  persons  killed 
among  the  plunderers,  the  troops,  and  the  inhabitants,  was  only 
thirty.  The  Greek  estimate  of  the  number  of  victims  was  several 
hundred.  The  women  and  children  and  wounded,  numbering  in 
all,  according  to  the  Turkish  official  report,  two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred, were  taken  care  of  on  the  Turkish  war  vessels. 

Sopot  and  Carlova  were  beautiful  towns  of  about  10,000  and 
20,000  inhabitants  respectively,  finely  situated  in  a  country  of  abun- 
dant pasturage,  and  inhabited  by  a  thrifty  and  well-to-do  popula- 
tion. Every  building  stood  in  a  well-kept  garden,  and  the  gardens, 
as  well  as  the  whole  towns,  were  watered  by  means  of  artificial 
canals  leading  down  from  the  mountain  streams.  At  Carlova  was 
the  center  of  the  native  cloth  manufacturing  of  the  country.  The 
Russians  came  into  Sopot,  accompanied  by  Bulgarians,  and  disarmed 
the  Mussulman  population,  a  few  of  whom  were  killed  in  street 
rows.  Then  the  Russians  retired  and  the  Turks  returned,  bringing 
with  them  Bashi-Bazouks  and  Circassians,  and  the  customary  in- 
discriminate slaughter  of  the  inhabitants  was  set  up.  The  com- 
mander of  the  plundering  force  ordered  them  to  desist  from  their 
wicked  work,  whereupon,  it  is  said,  they  turned  against  him  and 
locked  him  up.  Having  done  all  the  da  mage,  possible  at  Sopot, 
the  irregulars  went  to  Carlova,  which  was  saved  from  complete 
destruction  by  the  arrival  of  regular  troops,  but  not  till  a  great 
many  of  the  inhabitants  had  been  killed.  The  whole  district  in 
which  these  towns  were  situated  was  visited,  a  few  weeks  after  the 
massacres,  by  an  English  committee  of  relief,  who  bore  provisions 
and  aid  to  the  desolated  inhabitants.  They  reported  that  a  fearful 
degree  of  suffering  existed  in  consequence  of  the  destruction  which 
had  been  effected.  At  a  village  near  Carlova  was  a  camp  of  ten 
thousand  Turkish  refugees,  who  had  no  means  of  support  whatever, 
and  would  again  have  none  after  the  supplies  given  them  by  the 
committee  were  exhausted.  One  of  the  commission  wrote  to  the 
New  York  Times  of  Carlova,  that  except  that  the  houses  were  all 
standing,  "  the  place  was  hardly  worth  calling  a  town  any  longer. 
There  were  no  men  left  in  it,  and  there  was  not  a  house  or  shop 
which  had  not  been  utterly  wrecked  within."  The  women  showed 
the  blood-stains  on  the  walls  and  floors  which  marked  the  spot  of 
the  murder  of  their  male  relatives.  The  attention  of  another  of 


462  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

the  party  was  attracted  to  the  faces  of  a  number  of  children  at  the 
wooden  bars  of  a  window  carefully  fastened  against  intruders. 

"  At  our  inquiry  if  anybody  was  within,  given  in  Turkish,  the 
spaces  between  the  bars  became  instantly  blank.  Calling  up  our 
dragoman,  who  spoke  Bulgarian,  we  told  him  to  speak  gently,  and 
the  little  noses  reappeared.  '  How  many  of  you  are  there  ? '  we  in- 
quired. '  Ten,'  was  the  faint  reply,  in  a  childish  treble.  '  How  long 
have  you  been  shut  up  here  ? '  '  Nearly  forty  days.'  '  But  why  do 
you  stay  in  there  ? '  '  Oh,  do  not  ask  us  !  they  are  killing  every- 
body. "Where  is  our  father  ? ' — from  a  dozen  little  throats  at  once." 

The  father  of  these  children,  as  well  as  the  husband  of  a  woman  who 
made  anxious  inquiry  respecting  his  fate,  had  probably  been  taken  to 
Philippopolis  and  hung.  "  The  desolation  of  desolation,"  says  one 
of  the  members  of  this  commission,  "  was  reached  at  Sopot.  I  am 
used  to  the  phrases,  '  razed  to  the  ground,'  '  utterly  destroyed,'  '  sav- 
agery,' and  '  utter  vandalism,'  but  what  is  there  left  to  give  the 
reader  a  faint  idea  of  what  has  happened  to  Sopot  ?  Scarcely  one 
stone  adheres  to  another.  How  men  unhelped  by  the  devil  could 
have  done  the  mere  mechanical  part  of  the  work  is  a  mystery.  With 
scarcely  an  exception  that  we  could  make  out,  every  Bulgarian 
house  has  been  reduced  to  a  heap  of  stones,  bricks,  and  tiles."  An- 
other of  the  commission  says  that  several  of  the  houses  at  this  place 

•/ 

were  left  standing,  but  describes  Kalofer,  another  town  in  the  im- 
mediate neighborhood,  as  an  "  utterly  and  irretrievably  complete 
ruin,"  "  without  a  single  roof  remaining  or  a  single  whole  wall  left 
standing."  Six  hundred  ajnd  forty  Bulgarian  women  and  children 
were  found  in  a  state  of  starvation  at  Sopot.  Such  are  the  accounts 
given  by  members  of  a  committee  which  was  organized  to  give 
relief,  not  to  Bulgarian,  but  to  Turkish  sufferers.  Both  the  mem- 
bers of  the  committee  and  the  suffering  women,  spoke  in  high  terms 
of  the  conduct  of  the  Turkish  regulars,  who,  one  of  the  women 
said,  had  been  as  brothers  to  them. 

Similar  descriptions  were  given  by  men  who  visited  the  country 
and  saw  for  themselves  the  things  of  which  they  tell — of  village 
after  village,  "  actually  by  the  hundred,"  as  one  writer  has  it,  till  the 
reiteration  of  horrors  and  the  use  of  the  most  expressive  terms  to 
denote  utter  devastation  and  fiendish  atrocity  becomes  monotonous. 
The  country  people  and  the  witnesses  themselves  became  so  accus- 
tomed to  scenes  of  outrage  that,  to  use  the  language  of  one  of  the 


THE  A  TROCITIES  OF  THE  WAR.  463 

latter,  "  What  had  shocked  one's  nerves  a  few  weeks  before,  was 
now  looked  upon  almost  with  indifference." 

The  Turkish  Government  inflicted  rigorous  punishment  upon  all 
the  men  who  were  implicated  in  the  outrages  committed  by  Bulga- 
rians. A  series  of  executions,  which  may  be  well  characterized  as 
wholesale,  followed  the  recovery  of  the  territory  south  of  the  Bal- 
kans from  Russia ;  and  the  policy  of  severity  was  continued  even 
after  the  circumstances  of  the  political  and  military  situation  had 
ceased  to  justify  it.  It  was  even  carried  into  undisturbed  districts 
where  no  revolt  had  been  attempted,  so  that,  it  was  said,  no  Bulga- 
rian Christian,  however  innocent,  was  safe.  A  reign  of  terror  pre- 
vailed through  all  the  country  from  Adrianople  to  the  Balkans,  and 
the  "  Terror  in  Bulgaria  "  became  the  name  by  which  the  situation 
throughout  the  province  was  designated.  A  correspondent  wrote 
from  Adrianople  near  the  6nd  of  August,  of  executions  going  on  at 
the  rate  of  thirty  in  one  day,  and  stating  that  the  spectacle  had 
grown  so  familiar  on  the  streets  that  a  hanging  excited  "  no  more 
popular  attention  than  would  be  created  by  the  merest  trifle  of 
street  interest  in  London  and  New  York."  A  few  days  after  this 
the  statement  was  made  in  a  private  letter  from  the  same  place,  that 
the  most  substantial  and  respectable  men  were  selected  there,  and 
their  property  was  confiscated  ;  that  eighty  of  the  chief  inhabitants 
of  Carlova  had  been  hanged  there,  they  being  those  whose  conscious- 
ness of  innocence  had  kept  them  from  running  away.  Some  of  the 
incidents  connected  with  the  executions  showed  a  peculiar  heartless- 
ness  and  indifference  to  public  opinion  on  the  part  of  the  officers. 

Ahmed  Yefik  Pasha,  one  of  the  most  intelligent  and  cultivated  of 
the  Turkish  statesmen,  and  a  man  of  literary  reputation,  was  appointed 
Governor  of  Adrianople  late  in  August,  and  hopes  were  entertained 
that  his  administration  would  be  signalized  by  a  relaxation  of 
the  severity  of  Turkish  justice.  The  executions  were,  however, 
continued,  but  with  more  order  and  greater  regard  for  the  forms  of 
]aw.  The  German  Ambassador  spoke  to  the  Sultan  in  September 
about  the  excessive  number  of  the  executions,  and  the  length  of 
time  they  had  continued,  and  was  answered  that  the  insurgents  had 
been  tried  and  sentenced  by  duly  appointed  and  capable  officers, 
and  that  only  those  were  executed  who  had  been  guilty  of  offenses 
against  the  common  law. 

A  petition  was  presented  to  the  Sultan  in  August,  signed  by 
three  thousand  Bulgarians,  including  the  Archbishop  and  Bishops 


464  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST, 

of  Adrianople,  imploring  the  clemency  of  his  Majesty,  and  promis- 
ing to  remain  in  future  faithful  subjects  of  the  Porte. 

The  stories  of  these  many  violations  of  the  usages  of  war  and  of 
the  canons  of  humanity  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Governments 
of  Europe.  The  correspondence  which  ensued  upon  the  subject 
gave  the  Turkish  Government  an  opportunity  to  make  its  excuses 
for  the  sad  condition  which  was  acknowledged  to  exist,  and  gave 
publicity  to  the  results  of  such  inquiry  as  it  was  possible  for  foreign 
agents  to  make  as  to  the  location  of  the  responsibility  for  the 
atrocities.  On  the  10th  of  July,  Mr.  Layard,  the  British  Ambas- 
sador, reported  to  his  Government  that  the  Sultan  and  his  ministers 
had  expressed  the  fear  that  when  the  cruel  treatment  to  which  the 
Mussulman  populations  had  been  exposed  became  known,  it  would  be 
very  difficult  to  repress  the  feelings  of  indignation  and  revenge 
which  it  would  cause  among  their  fellow-believers.  In  regard  to 
the  reports  of  Turkish  misdeeds,  Mr.  Layard  believed  that  the 
Turkish  Government  had  been  obliged  to  withdraw  its  troops  and 
police  from  the  provinces  to  strengthen  its  forces  in  the  field,  and 
the  Circassians,  Tartars,  Kurds,  and  other  wild  tribes  had  taken  ad- 
vantage of  this  state  of  things  to  plunder  and  rob.  On  the  25th  of 
July,  in  sending  a  number  of  stories  of  outrage,  he  desired  it  to  be 
clearly  understood  that  he  in  no  way  vouched  for  their  truth,  and 
thought  that  many  of  them  were  greatly  exaggerated.  Partisan 
prejudice  on  both  sides  rendered  it  impossible  to  get  trustworthy  ac- 
counts. On  the  1st  of  August,  he  wrote  that  lawlessness  was  en- 
couraged by  the  state  of  anarchy  into  which  the  country  had  been 
thrown  in  consequence  of  the  war,  and  that  the  measures  taken  by 
the  Porte  to  remove  the  inhabitants  and  cattle  of  certain  districts 
had  added  to  the  evil.  The  German  Government,  in  the  latter  part 
of  August,  moved  by  official  reports  made  to  it  of  Turkish  cruelties 
to  the  Russian  wounded  and  prisoners,  addressed  a  note  to  the 
Porte,  reminding  it  of  the  provisions  of  the  Geneva  Convention. 
Other  powers,  Austria  and  Italy,  were  invited  to  co-operate  with 
the  German  Government  in  its  representations,  and  did  so,  assuring 
the  Porte,  however,  in  their  notes,  that  their  course  was  not  taken  in 
any  spirit  hostile  to  Turkey,  but  solely  in  the  interests  of  humanity. 
These  powers  also  professed  their  readiness  to  address  a  similar 
protest  to  the  Russian  Government  against  any  proved  violation  of 
the  convention  by  that  nation.  A  few  days  afterward,  the  British 
Government  was  notified  by  the  Turkish  Grand  Vizier  that  orders 


THE  ATROCITIES  OF  THE  WAR.  465 

had  been  given  for  the  distribution  among  the  Turkish  troops  of 
a  Turkish  translation  of  the  Geneva  Convention,  in  order  that  the 
violation  of  some  of  its  rules,  which  was  alleged  to  have  taken  place, 
and  which  it  was  admitted  might  in  some  instances  have  occurred 
through  ignorance  of  the  convention,  might  not  be  repeated.  The 
Grand  Vizier  gave  assurances  that  he  would  issue  instructions  that 
every  possible  measure  should  be  taken  to  prevent  excesses  on  the 
part  of  the  Circassians  and  other  irregular  troops. 

The  weight  of  evidence  tends  to  exculpate  the  Turkish  Govern- 
ment from  the  charge  of  deliberately  countenancing  the  outrages 
that  were  complained  of.  It  was  a  party  to  the  Geneva  Conven- 
tion, and  intended  in  good  faith,  in  its  feeble  way,  to  adhere  to  its 
provisions,  but  the  same  intrinsic  weakness  which  infects  every  de- 
partment of  its  administration  deprived  it  and  its  regular  officers  in 
the  field  of  all  power  of  restraining  the  excesses  of  its  irregular 
troops.  The  regular  Turkish  soldiery  are  likewise  exculpated  by 
general  testimony  from  all  connection  with  outrages  upon  unarmed 
populations.  The  officers  are  almost  universally  spoken  of  as  gentle- 
men, observing  the  usages  and  acknowledging  the  obligations  of 
civilization,  and  the  soldiers  as,  in  the  main,  kind-hearted  and 
humane ;  and  instances  were  not  infrequent  in  which  the  poor  Bul- 
garians, suffering  under  the  infliction  of  a  Bashi-Bazouk  or  Circas- 
sian raid,  appealed  confidently  to  the  regulars  for  protection,  and 
received  it.  The  cruelty  of  the  Turkish  soldiery  to  their  armed 
foes  whom  they  had  disabled  or  taken  prisoners  is  well-established. 
The  dead  bodies  of  Russian  soldiers  were  found  in  large  numbers  on 
numerous  battle-fields,  as  at  the  Shipka  Pass,  at  Telis,  where  an  en- 
gagement took  place  on  the  24th  of  October,  stripped  and  mutilated ; 
and  not  a  few  instances  are  related  in  which  the  disabled  Russians 
taken  prisoners  were  left  unattended  to  rather  than  kept  to  be  in  the 
way  and  to  consume  the  scanty  stores  of  provisions  of  the  Turkish 
commissariat. 

The  case  of  the  Geshoffs,  Manchester  merchants  at  Philippopolis, 
excited  much  interest  in  England.  Though  native  Bulgarians,  they 
were  accomplished  gentlemen,  of  the  best  social  and  financial  stand- 
ing at  home  and  abroad.  They  had  been  educated  at  an  English 
college,  and  were  said  to  be  in  speech  and  ideas,  "  as  British"  as  if 
they  had  been  born  "  and  brought  up  in  England."  They  were  ar- 
rested in  August,  ostensibly  upon  a  charge  that  a  man  just  before 
his  execution  had  denounced  them  by  name  as  guilty  of  treason. 


466  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

The  British  Vice-Consul  at  Philippopolis  was  instructed  not  to  in- 
terfere for  them.  Their  case  was,  however,  taken  up  by  the  Ameri- 
can Legation.  An  appointment  as  Yice-Consul  of  the  United 
States  was  secured  for  one  of  them,  but  the  Turkish  Government 
refused  to  recognize  it,  because  it  was  made  after  they  had  been  ar- 
rested. A  day  was  appointed  for  their  execution  in  September,  but 
the  act  was  delayed.  The  intercessions  of  their  foreign  friends  were 
finally  of  effect,  for  orders  were  given  in  November  to  treat  them- 
selves and  their  families  kindly ;  they  were  afterward  taken  to  Con- 
stantinople. 

A  terrible  amount  of  destitution  was  produced  throughout  the 
country  in  consequence  of  the  rivalry  of  murder  and  destruction 
that  prevailed.  In  Bulgarian  and  Mohammedan  districts  alike,  whole 
stretches  of  country,  with  the  villages  they  had  once  contained,  were 
converted  into  a  complete  waste.  The  people  who  escaped  mas- 
sacre fled  to  the  large  towns  for  refuge,  or  were  picked  up  by  the 
regular  soldiery  and  gathered  into  camps,  where  they  suffered  great 
privations,  being  destitute  of  food  and  clothing,  and  wholly  depend- 
ent for  the  means  of  existence  upon  such  aid  as  was  sent  them  from 
abroad.  Mr.  Layard,  in  a  dispatch  to  the  British  Foreign  Office, 
dated  August  21st,  described  the  number  of  fugitives  as  daily  in- 
creasing. They  were  "  wandering  over  the  face  of  the  country  in 
the  most  terrible  misery,  having  saved  nothing,  scarcely  even  their 
clothes."  "  Disease  was  appearing  among  them,  and  when  the  cold 
weather  set  in,  their  sufferings  would  be  dreadful  and  the  loss  of  life 
great.  Mr.  Young,  of  the  Red  Cross  Association,  had  found,  in 
one  spot,  without  shelter  and  food,  about  2,000  Mussulman  women 
and  children,  many  of  whom  were  wounded.  Another  agent  had 
reported  crowds  of  these  fugitives  in  East  Bulgaria,  bivouacking 
over  the  country,  having  found  15,000  families  at  Eski-Djuma  alone, 
in  the  utmost  want.  Some  five  thousand  were  at  Rodesto,  nearly 
13,000  at  Adrianople,  some  seven  or  eight  thousand  at  Philippopolis, 
many  thousand  at  Constantinople,  while  vessels  or  trains  were  con- 
stantly running  with  hundreds  more  at  different  points.  There  was 
scarcely  a  town  in  the  east  of  Rurnelia,  Mr.  Layard  said,  which  was 
not  crowded  with  fugitives,  and  the  total  number  could  not  be 
estimated. 

Subscriptions  were  taken  and  organizations  formed  in  the  more 
fortunate  commercial  towns  and  abroad  for  the  relief  of  the  desti- 
tute. The  Turks,  in  the  country  and  at  Constantinople,  co-operated 


THE  ATROCITIES  OF  THE  WAR.  467 

in  these  efforts,  "  making  no  distinction  between  Mohammedans  and 
Christians."  The  Sultan  opened  one  of  his  palaces  to  the  fugitives, 
and  many  of  them  were  received  into  private  houses  at  Constanti- 
nople. 

Charges  were  made  that  the  Montenegrins  were  cruel  to  the 
prisoners  whom  they  captured,  and  murdered  them.  They  had  a 
basis  of  truth,  in  that  during  the  four  hundred  years  that  Monte- 
negro has  been  at  war  with  Turkey,  it  had  been  the  policy  of  the 
Montenegrins  to  surround  themselves  with  all  the  horrors  as  to  their 
enemies  that  they  could  create,  in  part  compensation  for  the  dis- 
parity in  numbers  between  them  and  the  Turks.  In  accordance 
with  this  policy,  it  had  been  their  custom  to  take  no  prisoners,  but 
to  behead  all  the  Turks  whom  they  captured.  This  custom  has 
been  greatly  mitigated  under  the  influence  of  an  improved  civiliza- 
tion, so  that  during  the  recent  wars  the  Montenegrins  have  generally 
taken  prisoners  and  treated  them  as  did  other  civilized  people.  Still 
there  were  many  who  indulged  the  old  practice,  and  much  that  was 
alleged  regarding  the  murder  of  prisoners  was  admitted  to  be  true. 
Nevertheless,  hundreds  of  Turkish  prisoners  were  kept  in  the 
country,  in  perfect  security  to  themselves  and  with  good  feeling 
prevailing  between  them  and  the  people,  and  were  well  cared  for. 
It  was  the  boast  of  the  Montenegrins  that  they  never  harmed  a 
woman  or  a  child  of  their  enemies. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE     PHILANTHROPY     OF     THE     WAB. 

Progress  of  Humane  Principles — The  Geneva  Convention — The  Russian  Soldiers  Aid 
Societies— The  Empress  and  Ladies  of  Rank— The  Turkish  Aid  Societies— The  British 
Aid  Societies — QueenVictoria — Lady  Strangf  ord — Baroness  Burdett-Coutts — American 
Societies — Union  of  Nations  for  the  Relief  of  Distress. 

AMONG  the  worst  of  the  evils  of  war  in  olden  times  was  the  suf- 
fering which  was  inflicted  upon  the  sick  and  wounded  of  the 
armies.  Not  only  was  the  treatment  which  a  disabled  prisoner 
would  receive  at  the  hands  of  the  enemy  a  matter  of  great  doubt, 
but  the  provisions  existing  within  the  armies  for  the  care  of  their 
own  sick  and  wounded  were  extremely  defective.  The  intensity  of 
this  evil  has  been  greatly  mitigated  with  the  advance  of  civilization 
and  the  growth  of  comity  among  nations ;  and  the  subject  of  im- 
proving the  provisions  for  the  care  and  comfort  of  invalid  soldiery, 
aud  for  insuring  their  security  in  the  hands  of  an  enemy,  have 
received  especial  attention  within  the  last  twenty-five  years.  The 
manner  of  life  of  an  army,  and  the  circumstances  under  which  war 
is  necessarily  conducted,  make  the  best  provisions  that  can  be  devised 
terribly  inadequate.  The  resources  of  the  army  administration  and 
of  the  Governments  behind  it  have  generally  been  found  wholly 
insufficient  to  meet  the  cases  to  which  they  were  to  be  applied ;  nnd 
it  has  been  found  convenient  in  all  nations,  as  the  ideas  of  the 
amount  of  attention  which  should  be  given  to  this  branch  of  the 
service  have  been  enlarged,  to  supplement  the  official  work  with  the 
resources  of  private  benevolence.  The  later  wars  have  seen  the 
whole  people  of  the  belligerent  nations  interesting  themselves  in 
various  ways  in  measures  to  prepare  and  forward  to  the  field  of 
action  all  articles  and  provisions  which  could  be  of  use  in  saving 
suffering  and  promoting  the  comfort  of  the  soldiers,  and  in  dis- 
patching agents  to  attend  to  their  wants.  The  Sanitary  and  Chris- 
tian Commissions  in  the  United  States  during  the  civil  war 
(468) 


LOADING    AN    AMBULANCE. 


DEATH    OF    AZIZ     PASHA 


A    TURKISH    SURGEON    AND    FIELD    EQUIPAGE. 


THE  PHILANTHROPY  OF  THE  WAR.  471 

showed  how  efficient  this  voluntary  work  might  be  made.  The 
spirit  which  impels  to  such  effort  has  so  spread  that  during  the 
Russo-Turkish  war  the  Sanitary  and  Aid  Societies  received  sym- 
pathy and  help  from  all  the  leading  nations  of  civilization. 

The  most  important  step  which  has  ever  been  taken  to  relieve  suf- 
fering and  establish  humanity  in  war,  was  in  the  adoption  of  the  Ge- 
neva Convention,  a  code  providing  for  the  neutrality  of  hospitals  and 
the  care  of  the  wounded  in  1864.  It  was  suggested  by  Henry  Dunant, 
who,  having  witnessed  the  sad  suffering  on  the  battle-field  of  Sol- 
ferino,  devoted  himself  to  the  search  of  a  remedy  against  the 
recurrence  of  similar  scenes.  Representatives  of  several  European 
Governments  met  at  Geneva,  upon  the  invitation  of  the  Swiss  Gov- 
ernment, and  adopted  regulations  providing  that  the  places  where 
wounds  were  dressed  and  the  hospitals  should  be  regarded  as  neutral ; 
further,  that  all  persons  engaged  in  the  care  of  the  sick  should  be 
free  from  molestation  as  long  as  they  were  attending  to  their  duties 
of  taking  np  or  attending  to  the  wounded  on  the  battle-field,  and 
.that  when  this  work  was  over,  they  should  be  allowed  to  return 
in  safety  to  their  own  lines.  Houses  in  which  wounded  were 
placed  should  be  spared  from  the  allotment  of  troops  and  the  exac- 
tion of  contributions,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  should  be 
invited  to  participate  in  the  care  of  the  wounded,  and  assured  of 
respect  to  their  neutrality  while  doing  so.  A  flag  bearing  a  red 
cross  to  accompany  the  national  flag  was  established  as  the  sign  by 
which  the  neutral  places  and  buildings  should  be  covered,  and  per- 
sons engaged  in  the  humane  work  were  required  to  distinguish 
themselves  by  wearing  a  white  band  with  the  red  cross  upon  their 
arms.  Several  additional  articles  were  adopted  in  1868,  and  the 
provisions  of  the  Convention  were  extended  to  cover  warfare  by 
sea.  All  the  principal  States  of  Europe,  including  Russia  and 
Turkey,  have  accepted  the  provisions  of  the  Convention,  and  it  was 
generally  regarded  and  enforced  among  the  regular  troops  in  the- 
wars  of  1876  and  1877".  The  Turks  substituted  on  their  neutral 
flags  a  red  crescent  for  the  red  cross  of  the  Christian  nations,  in 
deference  to  their  religion,  of  which  the  crescent  is  the  symbol,  as 
the  cross  is  of  the  Christian  religion. 

In  1874,  delegates  from  all  the  European  powers  met  at  Brussels 

on  the  proposition  of  the  Emperor  Alexander  of  Russia,  with  the 

intention  of  extending  the  principles  of  the  Geneva  Convention  to 

the  population  of  belligerent  countries,  to  the  organization  of  vol- 

25 


4/2 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


unteers  and  reserve  troops,  and  even  to  the  arras  and  missiles  em- 
ployed, but  the  negotiations  brought  no  results. 

The  sanitary  wants  of  the  Montenegrins  and  Servians  during  their 
wars  of  1876  were  carefully  attended  to  by  their  Russian  sympathiz- 
ers. Large  amounts  of  supplies  were  raised  in  Russia,  and  sent  to 
the  seat  of  war  under  the  auspices  of  the  Slavic  committees,  and 
German  and  Russian  doctors  were  employed  to  attend  to  the  sick 
and  wounded.  Spacious  hospitals  were  established  in  Montenegro 
and  near  the  scenes  of  the  Herzegovinian  insurrection.  In  the  dis- 
tricts of  Herzegovina  and  Bosnia,  remote  from  these  hospitals,  how- 
ever, the  fate  of  the  wounded  insurgents  was  a  hard  one,  as  no  pro- 
visions whatever  existed  for  their  care.  The  arrangements  of  the 
Montenegrins  and  Servians  themselves,  as  well  as  of  the  Turks, 
were  very  defective.  The  Servian  service  was,  however,  much  im- 
proved during  the  course  of  the  campaign  under  the  care  of  Baron 
Mundy,  an  Austrian  officer  and  Professor  of  Military  Sanitary 
Science  in  the  University  of  Vienna,  who  came  to  Belgrade  at 
the  end  of  July,  1876,  and  took  charge  of  this  branch  of  the  work. 

During  the  war  of  1877,  the  belligerents  did  much  in  the  line  of 
sanitary  measures.  Public  and  private  letters  from  Russia  declared 
the  Empress  and  the  Russian  ladies  were  as  diligent  in  efforts  to  re- 
lieve the  sick  and  wounded  of  the  army,  as  the  Emperor  in  prepara- 
tions to  carry  on  the  war. 

At  the  opening  of  hostilities,  the  Red  Cross  Society  was  installed 
in  a  building  near  Fort  Nicholas.  There  everything  that  human 
ingenuity  could  suggest  or  invent  for  the  sick  and  wounded,  was  at 
hand,  ready  to  be  forwarded  as  soon  as  needed. 

The  officers  of  the  Russian  Red  Cross  Society  were  women  of  high 
rank,  Madame  Narishkina,  born  the  Princess  of  Kourakini,  Countess 
Shuvaloff — all  ladies  of  fortune — working  as  if  life  depended  on 
their  success.  From  mansion  to  cottage  the  work  went  on  the  whole 
day  long  ;  ladies  offered  their  jewels,  and  they  were  rich  in  jewels ; 
funds  rolled  in  from  all  sides,  the  peasants  urging  the  acceptance  of 
their  mites. 

When  the  battles  began,  from  every  direction  the  report  came 
that  the  Russians  treated  their  Turkish  prisoners  with  kindness. 
Among  the  prisoners  at  one  time  were  four  Turkish  and  two  Ger- 
man doctors.  The  Turkish  doctors  were  released,  and  the  two  Ger- 
mans put  in  charge  of  the  Turks,  with  the  same  pay  the  Porte 
offered. 


THE  PHILANTHROP  Y  OF  THE  WAR.  473 

The  Russian  troops  carried  the  Bulgarian  children  of  Eski  Sagra, 
Yeni  Sagra,  and  Kasanlik,  some  on  gun-carriages  and  some  in  their 
arms,  to  save  them  from  the  Turks ;  others  drove  along  a  cow  to 
feed  the  little  ones  with  milk,  and  at  Shipka  they  prepared  a  big 
cauldron  of  soup,  which  was  ladled  out  and  given  to  the  starving 
fugitives. 

On  the  Shipka  Pass,  in  spite  of  the  horrible  mutilations  of  Rus- 
sian prisoners  by  the  Turks,  Turkish  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  Rus- 
sians were  spared,  and  their  wounds  carefully  attended  to.  At  first 
the  Turks  looked  afraid ;  they  could  not  believe  the  Russians  less 
barbarous  than  themselves.  On  a  certain  day,  a  cart  drove  up  with 
two  wounded  Bashi-Bazouks.  The  Grand  Duke  at  once  gave  orders 
to  have  them  furnished  with  bread  and  wine  from  his  own  quarters, 
and  as  there  was  no  room  in  the  hospitals,  they  were  sent  to  a  neigh- 
boring village.  Hundreds  of  fugitives  were  met  who  were  loud  in 
praise  of  Russian  kindness.  All  who  could  travel  had  free  passes 
to  their  homes,  and  were  furnished  with  five  days'  provisions. 

The  field  and  transfer  hospitals  were  located  at  Simnitza,  Fratesti, 
and  Turnu-Magurelli ;  the  latter  was  described  as  "  one  vast  hospital," 
but  was  very  unfavorably  located  in  a  district  abounding  in  marshes 
and  stagnant  pools.  The  Government  hospitals  were  very  imperfect 
concerns,  on  account  of  the  incompetency  and  inexperience  of  their 
attendants,  and  their  ignorance  of  sanitary  science  and  the  elements 
of  practical  military  surgery,  although  they  were  earnest  and  faithful 
enough.  The  amateur  establishments  and  volunteer  ambulances 
were  pronounced  better  than  Government  provisions.  Near  the 
town  were  the  buildings  of  the  Red  Cross  of  Rumania,  directed  by 
Dr.  Severance  ;  on  the  public  square  the  hospital  of  Independence, 
able  to  receive  but  fifty  patients,  and  presided  over  by  Mademoiselle 
Marie  Rossetti ;  further  on,  the  tents  of  the  ladies  of  Jassy,  super- 
intended by  the  Princesses  Nathalie,  Soutzo,  and  Ghika.  Next  was 
the  Government  Military  Hospital,  and  then  the  admirable  ambulance 
of  the  Jews  of  Moldavia.  Mademoiselle  Rossetti,  assisted  by  the 
wives  of  the  Ministers  of  War  and  Justice,  secured  the  services  of 
two  leading  physicians  of  the  capital,  also  half  a  dozen  young  men 
who  had  just  completed  their  medical  studies  in  Paris.  The  hos- 
pital at  Gorni-Studen,  one  of  the  best,  could  accommodate  2,000 
patients,  yet  one  week's  fighting  gave  10,000  wounded. 

According  to  a  foreign  medical  officer  who  visited  them  officially, 
the  Rumanian  field  hospitals  were  very  defective.  He  wrote  of  them : 


474 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


"  There  is  an  insufficiency  of  surgeons,  who  are  generally  incom- 
petent from  want  of  experience,  and  utterly  deficient  in  executive 
ability,  in  the  Rumanian  field  hospitals.  Every  one  is  either  ignorant 
of  the  first  principles  of  field  hygiene,  or  culpably  negligent  in  not 
enforcing  proper  police  regulations.  Dirt,  disorder,  and  confusion 
everywhere ;  order  nowhere.  There  is  material  enough,  if  properly 
administered,  for  the  immediate  wants  of  250  to  300  wounded,  but 
from  first  to  last  I  have  met  with  but  two  men  who  knew  or  did 
their  duty.  No  one  can  form  an  idea  of  the  sufferings  of  the 
wounded,  for  whom  there  is  no  other  conveyance  from  the  field  to 
the  rear  than  bullock  carts  without  springs,  and  the  stretchers  are 
reeking  with  filth.  Excuses  may  be  made  for  much  of  this,  from 
the  fact  that  the  Rumanians  have  had  no  experience  in  warfare,  are 
deficient  in  means,  and  have  been  forced  into  a  fight  for  which  they 
are  to-day  unprepared.  The  parties  charged  with  the  execution 
meet  the  exigencies  of  the  moment  with  doubt  and  indecision,  where 
the  safety  of  the  soldier  demands  promptness  and  decision."  The 
Russian  field  hospitals  were  not  much  better,  except  as  regarded  the 
surgeons,  who  were  more  numerous,  and  some  of  whom  were  men 
of  talent  and  experience. 

The  chief  center  of  the  Russian  organization  for  the  relief  of  sick 
and  wounded,  was  at  Kiev,  on  the  Dnieper.  Here  was  the  regular 
military  hospital  and  the  second  Red  Cross  Society,  with  Prince- 
Demidoff  at  its  head. 

At  Kolrocheni,  opposite  the  Prince's  summer  palace,  was  the  large 
hospital,  capable  of  receiving  one  thousand  patients,  and  near  it  a 
number  of  frame  buildings  to  supplement  its  accommodations.  The 
nurses  merited  and  received  great  commendation.  The  soldiers 
called  them  the  little  sisters,  as  they  went  quietly  about,  dressed  in 
neat,  brown  serge,  with  long,  white  aprons,  the  red  cross  embroidered 
on  the  breast,  and  white  handkerchiefs  pinned  over  their  heads, 
giving  medicines,  showing  pictures,  reading,  or  pouring  out  a  cup  of 
tea. 

Nine  Russian  cities  pledged  themselves  to  construct  and  support 
hospitals  which  should  contain  1,280  beds. 

Among  the  noteworthy  generosities  of  patriotic  Russians,  that  of  a 
village  blacksmith,  in  Southern  Russia,  deserves  praise.  He  offered 
to  shoe,  free  of  charge,  all  cavalry  horses  that  passed  his  door,  and  as 
Cossacks  were  daily  passing  through  the  village,  his  gift  was  no  mean 
one.  A  merchant  of  Odessa  gave  250,000  cigars  and  cigarettes,  and 


THE  PHILANTHROP  Y  OF  THE  WAR. 


475 


another,  400,000,  to  the  sick  and  wounded.  A  merchant  of  Yoronez 
gave  ten  tons  of  tobacco  to  the  army,  and  another  sent  liberal  sup- 
plies of  food  and  luxuries  to  five  thousand  Cossacks  who  were  en- 
camped near  Rustchuk. 

Turning  to  Turkey,  we  find  she  had  not  been  idle  in  philanthropy ; 
she  had  her  Red  Crescent  Society,  which  did  noble  work.  The  Sultan 
took  great  interest  in  the  work  of  the  societies,  and  offered  a  room  in 
the  palace  as  a  mesting-place  for  the  committee,  in  order  that  they 
might  be  under  his  special  protection.  He  examined  the  models  of 
ambulance  wagons,  and  rejected  one  with  only  two  wheels,  saying 
if  he  were  wounded  he  would  wish  to  be  carried  in  a  vehicle  with 
four  wheels,  and  he  did  not  see  why  any  soldier  in  his  army  should 
not  be  treated  as  well  as  himself. 

The  Sultan  himself  subscribed  £2,500  to  the  Red  Crescent  Society ; 
his  Turkish  subjects,  following  his  lead,  contributed  more  than 
£16,000.  Sub- committees  were  formed  in  all  the  principal  towns  of 
the  provinces.  These  committees  were  composed  of  representatives 
of  the  Ottoman  Bank  and  the  medical  officers  of  health.  They  pre- 
pared and  distributed  large  supplies  of  stores,  also  country  wagons 
with  mattresses,  and  a  surgeon  for  each  army.  Besides  large  hos- 
pitals at  Rustchuk  and  Yarna,  they  fitted  up  one  at  Anatolie  Kavak, 
on  the  Bosporus,  and  another  on  the  Dardanelles.  A  very  favorable 
account  was  given  of  the  hospital  at  Yarna  by  a  correspondent  of  the 
Edinburgh  Scotsman  who  visited  it.  It  was  under  the  management 
of  the  Stafford  House  Committee.  "  The  building,"  says  the  corre- 
spondent, "  is  the  most  appropriate  that  could  have  been  chosen  in 
this  desirable  locality.  It  is  of  stone,  has  plenty  of  windows,  and  its 
ventilation  has  been  improved  by  wooden  shafts  (with  partitions  to 
facilitate  up  and  down  draught)  passing  through  the  roof.  I  was 
gratified  to  remark  that  there  was  no  display  of  luxury.  On  the 
contrary,  the  utmost  frugality  prevails.  The  resident  surgeon's 
room,  on  the  left  of  the  entrance,  is  uncarpeted,  and  its  sole  furniture 
consists  of  a  small  deal  table,  a  truckle  bed  covered  with  a  rough 
horsecloth,  and  a  most  penurious-looking  washstand.  Opposite  is  the 
operating  room,  and  behind  is  the  pharmacy,  well-stocked  with 
drugs,  most  of  which,  for  want  of  time,  had  to  be  procured  from 
Constantinople.  Passing  on,  we  come  to  a  spacious  kitchen  with 
the  usual  native  kitchen-range  for  charcoal  fires,  and  a  large  wash- 
house  provided  with  every  requisite.  There  are  two  wards,  one  con- 
taining thirty-five  beds  and  the  other  fourteen.  The  first  is  unex- 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

ceptionable.  It  is  quite  a  pleasure  to  get  out  of  the  sun  into  its  cool, 
pure  atmosphere.  The  beds  are  ranged  on  raised  floors  on  each  side 
of  an  earthen  path,  and  their  dainty  white  coverlets  look  quite 
tempting  to  one  who  has  been  obliged,  as  I  have,  to  camp  out  or 
sleep  on  the  filthy  floors  of  native  coffee-houses  in  the  interior. 
Beside  each  bed  is  a  small  table,  furnished  with  a  decanter  and 
glasses."  The  hospital  contained  another  ward,  and  a  loft  with  stores 
and  an  abundance  of  all  fixtures  and  appliances,  disinfectants,  and 
arrangements  for  ventilation. 

At  Kars  there  were  nine  doctors  with  the  army ;  at  Ardahan,  five ; 
one  with  the  battalion  of  Molla  Suleiman,  and  eleven  in  the  hospital 
at  Erzerum.  In  the  Scutari  hospital,  the  doctors  visiting  it  found 
1,300  sick  and  wounded  Turks  and  two  Russian  prisoners,  all  well 
attended.  Much  difficulty  was  felt  in  caring  for  the  wounded  Turks 
on  account  of  their  aversion  to  amputation.  Most  of  them  preferred 
to  die  whole  to  living  mutilated.  Their  surgeons  sympathized  with 
this  feeling,  which  had  a  religious  foundation,  so  that  in  many  of  the 
purely  Turkish  hospitals  numerous  deaths  occurred  in  cases  in  which 
life  could  have  been  saved  with  proper  attention  or  under  European 
surgeons.  Much  of  the  neglect  which  was  charged  against  the  Turk- 
ish management  arose  from  their  doctrine  of  fatality,  and  from  their 
superstitious  objections  to  maiming  the  body.  The  Turkish  soldiers, 
however,  proved  hardy  patients,  and  many  of  them  recovered  under 
circumstances  in  which  death  would  have  seemed  certain  to  a 
European. 

At  Smyrna,  where  1,500  Bulgarian  refugees  arrived,  the  authori- 
ties did  all  in  their  power  to  relieve  their  distress.  At  Constantinople, 
the  Sultan  placed  one  of  his  palaces  (Beylerbey)  at  the  disposal  of 
the  authorities  for  the  reception  of  fugitives  of  all  classes,  and  ordered 
that  other  buildings  should  be  prepared  for  their  accommodation. 
Many  were  taken  into  private  houses,  and  some  Turks,  with  Ahmed 
Yefik  Pasha,  exerted  themselves  to  procure  clothing  for  them  before 
cold  weather  set  in.  The  throngs  of  fugitives  severely  taxed  the 
resources  of  the  authorities  to  supply  their  needs,  and  although  all 
the  available  buildings  were  given  up  for  their  accommodation,  and 
much  aid  was  afforded  by  private  munificence,  so  great  were  their 
numbers  and  so  destitute  was  their  condition  that  a  vast  amount  of 
suffering  was  inevitable.  A  similar  state  of  affairs  existed  at  Adri- 
anople,  where  2,500  fugitives  were  congregated  in  August,  and  the 
garrison  and  2,000  wounded  soldiers  had  to  be  cared  for.  A  cor- 


THE  PHILANTHROP  Y  OF  THE  WAR.  477 

respondent  wrote  from  this  place  August  8th  :  "  The  wounded  sol- 
diers are  being  far  better  attended  than  I  could  have  expected.  Great 
difficulty  was  at  first  entertained  of  being  able  to  have  them,  but 
that  is  now  not  so  much  felt  as  the  want  of  surgeons.  The  military 
hospital,  which  I  visited  yesterday  and  found  clean  and  well-venti- 
lated, contains  about  600  men.  The  civil  hospital  some  two  hundred 
more ;  while  the  rest  are  distributed  about  the  town  in  what  are 
called  boujeklik,  or  large  wooden  buildings  for  storing  silk  cocoons, 
which  seem  designed  by  Providence  for  hospitals,  so  admirably 
suited  are  they  to  this  purpose.  Besides  this,  to  their  credit  it  must 
be  recorded,  the  Sisters  of  the  Assumption  have  undertaken  to  house 
and  nurse  between  sixty  and  seventy  wounded  soldiers  at  some  houses 
in  different  suburbs." 

While  the  war  was  stained  with  the  horrible  atrocities  which  we 
have  related  in  another  place,  and  the  Turkish  officers  sometimes,  as 
did  Osrnan  Pasha  at  Plevna,  excusing  himself  under  the  plea  of 
necessity,  allowed  their  prisoners  to  be  exposed  to  suffering  and 
almost  certain  death,  the  Turkish  regular  officers  and  soldiers  gen- 
erally showed  the  traits  of  civilized  humanity  in  their  bearing  toward 
their  wounded  enemies.  In  one  instance,  a  Russian  soldier  said,  "  My 
mate  was  wounded ;  two  Turks  found  him,  washed  his  wound  and 
bandaged  it,  then  put  him  on  his  way.  They  wanted  to  take  away 
his  rifle,  but  when  he  declared  his  life  would  not  be  safe  without  it, 
they  allowed  him  to  keep  it  and  charged  him  to  keep  out  of  the  way 
of  the  Circassians,  as  they  might  do  him  harm."  At  Shurnla,  the 
Turkish  officers  placed  fezzes  and  Turkish  cloaks  on  Russian  wound- 
ed lying  on  the  field,  to  prevent  their  irregulars  murdering  them 
during  the  night. 

Next  to  the  belligerents,  England  did  much  in  the  line  of  relief. 
The  English  Minister,  Mr.  Layard,  and  his  wife,  took  great  interest 
in  the  sanitary  work.  The  English  efforts  were  directed  through  two- 
leading  societies.  The  Stafford  House  Committee  worked  all  through, 
the  Servian  war,  but  during  the  Russo-Turkish  war  confined  itself,, 
till  the  middle  of  June,  to  sending  out  stores  to  be  administered  by 
Ahmed  Yefik  Pasha,  President  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  It: 
then  appointed  a  special  commissioner,  under  whom  surgeons  were 
engaged  in  England  and  assigned  to  fields  of  duty  in  Europe  and 
Asia,  and  local  surgeons,  principally  Greek  and  Armenian,  were- 
employed.  A  wagon  transport  line  was  organized  for  communica- 
tion with  the  Balkans,  and  the  head  of  the  Yamboli  Tirnova  Rail- 


478  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

way ;  stores  were  forwarded  to  Erzerum,  and  numerous  hospitals  were 
established  at  suitable  places.  The  society  entered  into  relations 
with  the  Red  Cresent,  the  National  Ottoman  Society  for  the  Belief 
of  the  Sick  and  Wounded,  under  which  it  received  protection  and 
enjoyed  all  the  privileges  of  the  Geneva  Convention.  The  British 
National  Society  for  aid  to  Sick  and  "Wounded,  dispatched  a  ship 
with  surgeons,  who  were  sent  where  their  services  were  most  needed. 
Some  of  its  surgeons  rendered  valuable  services  during  the  earlier 
operations  south  of  the  Balkans,  and  their  attentions  to  the  poor 
wounded  women  and  children  are  described  as  having  been  incessant, 
"  while  they  sacrificed  every  thought  of  personal  comfort  and  rest  to 
alleviate  their  sufferings."  All  of  the  societies,  as  well  as  the  ladies' 
committees,  worked  together,  with  the  sole  object  of  relieving  suffer- 
ing, regardless  of  creed  or  nationality,  and  sinking  everything  like 
petty  competition  among  themselves. 

In  Therapia,  a  place  of  fashionable  resort,  and  where  the  English 
Minister's  palace  is,  the  ladies,  mostly  English  residents,  won  much 
praise  for  their  admirable  work  for  the  soldiers,  contributing  large 
sums  of  money,  preparing  bandages,  beds,  sheets,  and  all  such  neces- 
saries, and  uniting  their  work  with  other  aid  societies  in  the  vicinity. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Layard  were  invited  to  dinner  by  the  Sultan,  who 
received  them  with  great  distinction  at  his  table.  Mrs.  Layard  was 
presented  by  his  Majesty  with  a  magnificent  set  of  diamonds,  in 
recognition  of  the  generous  offerings  of  the  English  people  for  the 
Turkish  wounded.  In  August,  Mr.  Layard  received  from  the  Baron- 
ess Burdett-Coutts,  who  represented  the  contributors  to  the  Turkish 
Relief  Fund,  £4,000,  to  relieve  Turkish  women  and  children,  and 
afterward  £200  for  suffering  soldiers. 

At  Adrianople  the  Stafford  House  Committee  made  great  exer- 
tions, opening  two  military  hospitals  for  two  hundred  and  sixty 
patients,  and  in  one  day  dressing  the  wounds  of  one  hundred  and 
eighty  soldiers.  One  surgeon  took  charge  of  fugitive  women  and 
children  who  were  Turks,  Bulgarians,  and  Jews. 

The  Central  Bulgarian  Relief  Committee,  Sir  H.  Eliot,  President, 
sent  £300  for  Bulgarian  relief,  and  offered  to  supply  medicines  to 
any  surgeon  who  would  give  his  services  to  the  work,  and  funds  to 
provide  food  for  urgent  need. 

Queen  Yictoria  and  the  Princess  Beatrice  spent  much  time  mak- 
ing lint  for  the  wounded  of  both  sides,  and  forwarded  a  large  num- 
ber of  bandages  to  Mrs.  Layard  for  distribution. 


THE  PHILANTHROPY  OF  THE  WAR.  479 

Two  of  the  physicians  sent  out  at  the  expense  of  Lord  Blantyre, 
Drs.  Oasson  and  Featherstonehaugh,  were  able  to  show,  under  their 
charge,  a  well-ordered  hospital,  and  through  the  liberality  of  Mrs. 
Layard,  Lady  Kernball,  and  other  English  ladies  in  Constantinople, 
they  were  able  to  provide  themselves  with  many  comforts  unknown 
in  Turkish  hospitals.  They  worked  nobly  among  the  wounded, 
greatly  aided  by  American  missionaries. 

At  Adrianople  a  small  hospital  was  organized  and  conducted  by 
an  English  lady,  Mrs.  Camara ;  she  was  the  only  person  of  her 
position  who  dared  remain  in  the  city.  Hearing  of  the  dreadful 
massacre,  she  opened  a  large  house  for  Turkish  women  and  children, 
wounded  or  not  wounded,  receiving  rations  from  Government  for 
them. 

A  Greek  gentleman  gave  some  large  silk  cocoon  stores  to  be  used 
as  hospitals  for  wounded  women  and  children.  It  was  stated  the 
fugitives  in  Adrianople  numbered  twenty-five  thousand  five  hundred, 
besides  soldiers.  The  military  hospitals  contained  six  hundred  men, 
the  civil  hospital  two  hundred,  and  the  wooden  buildings  were  filled 
also.  In  the  suburbs  the  Sisters  of  the  Assumption  offered  to  house 
and  nurse  sixty  or  seventy  wounded  soldiers. 

A  large  supply  of  stores  was  forwarded  to  Erzerum  under  Lieut. 
M.  Drummond,  R.  N.  All  stores  and  supplies  were  handed  over  to 
the  Red  Crescent  Society,  which  took  the  expense  of  working  them. 

Sometimes  the  Turkish  officials  were  jealous  of  foreign  interfer- 
ence, and  would  not  allow  members  of  the  Soldiers'  Aid  Societies 
to  carry  out  their  work,  but  in  many  places  the  English  surgeons 
were  met  with  gratitude  and  co-operation. 

Much  good  work  was  done  at  Adrianople,  Philippopolis,  Eski 
Sagra,  Kasanlik,  and  Shipka.  Even  when  ordered  to  return,  the 
English  surgeons  gave  into  the  hands  of  the  chief  Turkish  surgeon 
the  medicines,  bandages,  stretchers,  soups,  and  appliances  they 
brought.  "What  civilized  nations  call  Turkish  cruelty,  the  Turk 
counts  far-sighted  wisdom.  When  the  doctors  wished  to  amputate 
limbs,  the  Pashas  told  them  they  had  special  orders  to  prevent  it. 
"  If  they  die  now  they  will  go  to  Paradise ;  if  you  save  their  lives  the 
Sultan  will  have  to  pay  them  a  pension  for  forty  years,  and  Turkey 
is  not  rich  enough  to  afford  that."  Mr.  Layard,  the  British  Am- 
bassador, when  he  made  an  appeal  to  England  for  aid,  said,  "  The 
Turkish  Government  is  doing  its  best,  but  its  action  is  almost  para- 
lyzed by  the  magnitude  of  the  misery  it  has  to  deal  with." 


480  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

At  Bucharest  the  English  opened  hospitals,  and  received  for  them 
ample  stores.  The  Rumanian  hospitals  were  finely  fitted  up,  and 
the  patients  well  attended.  The  Hospital  of  the  Princess  of 
Rumania  had  fifty-six  patients,  all  bad  cases,  selected  by  her  High- 
ness on  account  of  the  severity  of  their  wounds.  The  Princess 
attended  the  wounded  in  person,  clad  in  common  working  dress, 
and  cheered  the  poor  fellows  by  kind  words  and  attention.  General 
Richter,  the  President  of  the  Russian  Red  Cross  Society,  sent  mes- 
sages of  thanks  to  the  English  people  and  their  societies  for  their 
generous  sympathy  and  aid  to  Russian  wounded. 

In  September  large  funds  were  sent  from  England  to  Mr.  Layard 
for  distribution  among  the  Turkish  sufferers  by  the  war.  The 
Turkish  Government  placed  one  hundred  and  forty  wagons,  six 
pack  horses,  and  an  escort  of  ten  horsemen,  at  the  disposal  of  those 
who  took  in  charge  the  sanitary  and  relief  measures.  The  poor 
Bulgarian  and  Turkish  sufferers  were  exceedingly  grateful,  saying, 
"  Our  children  shall  always  call  English  people  blessed."  The  four 
military  hospitals  at  Eski  Djurna  were  most  complete  with  the  help 
of  the  English  societies. 

Lady  Strangford's  name  is  a  synonym  for  benevolence.  She  is  a 
member  of  a  rich  and  noble  family  in  England,  her  husband  having 
been  once  British  Ambassador  to  Turkey,  but  she  left  her  home  to 
organize  the  Red  Cross  service  in  that  country.  She  was  employed 
during  the  whole  year  in  equipping  hospitals  and  training  others 
for  the  care  of  the  wounded.  Among  the  principal  of  the  hospitals 
which  she  established  was  the  one  at  Sophia,  where  she  organized 
a  corps  of  women  and  trained  them,  simply  to  show  the  Turks 
how  to  do. 

The  Baroness  Burdett-Coutts  was  very  active  and  efficient  in  her 
exertions  for  the  relief  of  sufferers,  and  received  a  public  acknowl- 
edgment from  the  Sultan. 

The  extent  which  the  organization  of  the  benevolent  work 
reached  as  the  war  advanced  is  shown  by  a  letter  written  from  Con- 
stantinople in  October,  which,  speaking  of  the  Red  Crescent  Society, 
says : 

"  It  is  astonishing  what  amount  of  money  and  hospital  articles  it 
has  sent  out  to  Turkey,  the  ambulances  it  has  built,  the  many  sur- 
geons it  has  in  its  employ,  and  the  great  number  of  disciplined 
agents  it  has  under  its  orders. 


THE  PHILANTHROPY  OF  THE  WAR.  481 

"  Every  steamer  from  England  brings  stores  of  preserved  meats, 
of  liquors,  of  lint,  and  material  for  the  transport  of  the  wounded, 
such  as  spring-beds,  ambulances,  etc.  Every  division  of  the  Turk- 
ish army  has  some  of  the  Red  Crescent  personnel  with  complete 
field-apparatus,  stationed  near  it  when  in  camp  and  following  it 
when  it  marches  to  battle.  Yesterday  six  baggage  vans  of  the  so- 
ciety, with  ambulance  furnishings,  went  up  to  Philippopolis  by  the 
Adrianople  Railway.  Before  she  left  here  for  the  seat  of  hostilities, 
Lady  Strangford  had  hospital  accommodations  provided  at  the  royal 
palaces  according  to  the  Red  Cross  system  and  under  its  superin- 
tendence. The  palaces  of  Beylerbey  and  Tcheragan,  two  of  the 
finest  imperial  residences  on  the  Bosporus,  are  now  turned  into 
hospitals,  and  they,  as  well  as  the  great  barracks  at  Scutari  and  on 
the  heights  of  Bellevue,  are  crammed  with  patients  under  treatment. 
The  headquarters  of  Lady  Strangford  are  at  Adrianople,  where  a 
vast  hospital  has  been  prepared,  which  now  holds  within  its  walls 
over  two  thousand.  From  this  point  she  is  enabled  to  communicate 
with  the  temporary  and  permanent  hospitals  in  the  rear  of  the 
armies  and  on  the  line  of  the  roads  to  the  Balkans  and  Servia.  You 
can  form  an  idea  of  the  amount  of  suffering  needing  relief  when  I 
say  that  the  battles  in  the  Shipka  Pass  alone  furnished  over  two 
thousand  patients  in  two  weeks." 

In  New  York  two  American  Societies  were  organized,  the  Society 
of  the  Red  Cross,  to  aid  Russians,  and  the  Society  of  the  Crescent 
and  the  Cross,  to  aid  both  Russians  and  Turks.  The  Red  Cross  So- 
ciety was  given  up.  The  Cross  and  Crescent  held  a  ball  which 
yielded  $600,  and  with  other  moneys  contributed,  $10,000  was 
raised  ;  half  of  the  sum  was  sent  to  Constantinople  and  half  to  St. 
Petersburg,  through  the  American  Legations  at  the  two  cities.  Mrs. 
Marshal  O.  Roberts  gave  a  musical  reception  at  her  house,  the  proceeds 
of  which  went  for  the  benefit  of  the  sufferers  in  the  Eastern  war. 
The  American  missionaries  in  Turkey  were  often  mentioned  as  giv- 
ing valuable  aid  to  those  who  suffered  in  the  war. 

The  French  people  exhibited  their  sympathy  with  the  enterprises 
for  relief  by  the  organization  of  numerous  societies  in  the  various 
parts  of  the  republic  to  aid  it. 

The  Jews  of  Europe  and  the  United  States  took  a  warm  interest 
in  the  philanthropic  work,  particularly  in  behalf  of  their  co-religion- 
ists, large  numbers  of  whom  were  exposed  to  much  suffering. 


482  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Committees  were  formed  in  all  their  principal  societies,  and  liberal 
contributions  and  supplies  of  stores  and  provisions  were  made  and 
forwarded  from  all  quarters. 

Thus  this  war,  which  was  marked  in  some  points  by  atrocities  of 
unusual  heinousuess,  showing  to  what  excesses  the  unrestrained 
passions  of  man  may  lead  him,  brought  about  in  other  points  the 
co-operation  of  all  nations  in  works  of  humanity  and  for  the  relief 
of  distress.  The  cruelties  of  the  belligerents  and  the  outrages  com- 
mitted by  their  irresponsible  followers  are  another  lesson  against  the 
evils  of  war.  The  union  of  mankind  in  works  of  relief,  and  the 
extent  of  the  relief  and  provisions  which  were  afforded  and  dis- 
tributed without  distinction  or  prejudice,  the  combination  of  dif- 
ferent races  and  religions  for  common  humanity  which  was  exhibited, 
mark  an  important  step  in  the  progress  of  civilization  and  humane 
principles,  which  may  be  referred  to  in  future  times  as  one  of  the 
most  creditable  characteristics  of  the  century. 


MURAD   V. 


ALEXANDER,    . 

HEIR   APPARENT   TO   THE   RUSSIAN   THRONE. 


CHAPTER  XYII. 

THE   ACTOBS   IN   THE   CONTEST. 

Interest  in  the  Personalities  of  the  War — Sovereigns  :  The  Czar  and  the  Imperial  Family 
of  Russia  —  Sultans:  Abdul  Hamid,  Abdul  Aziz,  and  Murad  V. —  Ismail  Pasha, 
Prince  Charles  I.,  Prince  Milan  IV.,  Prince  Nicholas,  the  Emperors  William  and 
Francis  Joseph,  Queen  Victoria,  President  MacMahon,  King  Humbert — Statesmen : 
Prince  Gortchakoff,  Gen.  Ignatieff,  Count  Shuvaloff,  Prince  Bismarck,  Count  An- 
drassy,  Earl  Beaconsfleld,  Earl  Derby,  Mr.  Layard,  Lord  Loftns,  Sir  H.  Eliot — Mid- 
hat,  Edhem,  Savf et,  Aarifl,  Server,  Hussein  Avni,  Redif,  Mahmoud  Damad  and  Ahmed 
Vefik,  Pashas — Ohannes  Tchamith — Russian  Generals  :  Nepokoitchitzky,  Todleben, 
Radetzky,  Zimmermann,  Baron  Krudener,  Gourko,  Skobeleff,  Shilder-Shuldner, 
Prince  Shachovsky,  Dragomiroff,  Prince  Imeretinski,  Tchernayeff,  Loris  Melikoff, 
Tergukassoff,  Dewell,  Ileimann,  Oklobjio — Turkish  Generals  :  Abdul  Kerim,  Me- 
hemet  Ali,  Suleiman,  Osman,  Hobart,  Mukhtar,  Ghazi  Mehemed,  Feizi,  Yaver, 
Shevket,  Rauf ,  Fuad,  Dervish,  Pashas. 

THE  troubles  in  Turkey  and  its  dependencies  have  now  engaged 
a  large  share  of  the  attention  of  the  Governments  and  people  of 
the  principal  States  of  Europe  for  three  years.  The  negotiations 
and  actions  relating  to  them  have  brought  into  prominence  as  par- 
ticipants many  men,  some  of  whose  names  were  before  familiar  to 
the  public,  while  of  others  little  or  nothing  was  known,  in  the  United 
States  at  least,  till  they  were  mentioned  in  the  current  dispatches. 
The  personal  interest  is  always  strong  in  matters  of  history,  and  the 
course  of  events  is  often  largely  shaped  by  personal  character  and 
motives.  For  these  reasons,  and  because  the  knowledge  of 
personal  character  and  motives  is  often  of  material  assistance  in  ex- 
plaining why  certain  turns  are  given  to  public  affairs,  it  seems  ap- 
propriate to  give  sketches  of  the  lives  and  characters  of  the  most 
prominent  actors  in  the  war,  and  its  discussions,  so  far  at  least  as 
they  relate  to  those  points.  The  sketches  that  follow  are  begun 
with  accounts  of  the  ruling  families  of  the  nationalities  which  were 
immediately  engaged  in  the  war,  after  which  notices  are  given  of 
the  rulers  of  the  States  which  participated  in  its  discussions,  then  of 
the  leading  statesmen  of  the  several  nations,  and  of  the  Generals  of 
the  Russian  and  Turkish  armies. 


486  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Alexander  II.,  the  Autocrat  of  Russia,  is  one  of  the  best  known 
rnonarchs  of  our  age.  When  he  acceded  to  the  throne,  Russia  had 
long  been  one  of  the  great  powers  of  the  globe  ;  during  his  reign, 
which  has  now  extended  over  more  than  twenty  years,  it  has  con- 
siderably grown  in  extent,  increased  in  population,  and  advanced 
in  civilization.  At  the  present  time  the  power  of  Russia  is  greater 
than  it  has  been  at  any  previous  period  of  its  history,  and  according 
to  all  appearances,  it  has  not  yet  reached  its  climax.  Alexander 
was  born  April  29  (old  style,  IT),  1818,  and  succeeded  his  father, 
the  Emperor  Nicholas,  March  2,  1855.  According  to  the  wish  of 
his  father,  who  had  been  surnamed  the  Iron  Czar,  his  education, 
like  that  of  all  the  Russian  princes,  was  to  have  an  essentially  mili- 
tary character,  but  Alexander's  disposition  was  found  not  to  be 
warlike,  and  under  the  guidance  of  gifted  teachers,  especially  the 
poet  Shukovski,  the  development  of  his  mind  received  a  quite  dif- 
ferent direction.  Even  during  the  reign  of  Nicholas  he  was 
anxious  to  keep  as  much  as  possible  aloof  from  the  war  department, 
and  to  become  thoroughly  initiated  into  the  administrative  and  dip- 
lomatic affairs  of  the  Empire.  He  was  repeatedly  intrusted,  during 
the  absence  of  Nicholas  from  Russia,  with  the  responsible  duties  of 
Regent  of  the  Empire,  and  in  1848  he  was  sent  by  his  father  on  a 
special  mission  to  Berlin,  Yienna,  and  other  European  capitals.  As 
he  ascended  the  throne  in  the  midst  of  the  Crimean  war,  he  could 
not  well  change  at  once  the  policy  of  his  father,  but  as  soon  as 
peace  had  been  concluded,  March  10,  1856,  he  hastened  to  Moscow 
to  proclaim  to  the  country  and  to  the  world  the  reformatory  ideas 
which  were  to  characterize  his  reign,  and  which  aimed  chiefly  at  a 
development  of  all  the  material  and  intellectual  resources  of  his 
country.  Rarely  has  the  beginning  of  a  new  reign  been  hailed  by 
a  large  people  with  greater  enthusiasm.  The  Imperial  promise  that, 
"  by  the  combined  efforts  of  the  Government  and  the  people,1'  the 
public  administration  should  be  improved,  and  that  justice  and  mercy 
should  reign  in  the  courts  of  law,  was  received  as  an  indication  that 
the  Emperor  contemplated  to  substitute  for  the  autocratic  form 
of  government  an  approach  toward  the  freer  and  more  civilized 
institutions  of  Central  and  Western  Europe.  Many  acts  in  the  first 
years  of  Alexander's  reign  appeared  as  a  vigorous  inauguration  of  a 
reformatory  policy.  Several  ministers  published  reports  on  their 
departments  which  officially  acquainted  the  entire  people  with  facts 
which  formerly  had  been  treated  as  State  secrets.  The  number  of 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST.  487 

students  at  the  Russian  universities  was  no  longer  restricted ;  the 
difficulty  of  obtaining  passports  for  traveling  abroad  was  removed ; 
the  rigor  of  the  press  laws  was  relaxed ;  and  the  numerous  news- 
papers and  periodicals  which  were  founded  were  allowed  to  publish 
crushing  philippics  against  administrative  tyranny,  and  the  habitual 
peculations  of  the  officials.  An  enthusiastic  and  even  fantastic  ex- 
pectation of  sweeping  reforms  and  a  radical  regeneration  of  the 
Empire,  and  an  impetuous  desire  to  aid  in  the  introduction  of  the 
new  era,  and  to  profit  by  it,  spread  through  all  classes  of  the  popula- 
tion. "When  a  law  was  issued  for  the  creation  of  limited  liability 
companies,  no  less  than  forty-seven  companies  of  this  kind  were 
formed  in  the  space  of  two  years,  with  a  combined  capital  of  358 
millions  of  rubles,  a  fact  full  of  significance,  if  we  consider  that 
from  the  founding  of  the  first  joint  stock  company  in  1Y99 
down  to  1 853,  or  during  an  entire  half  century  previous  to  the  com- 
mencement of  the  present  reign,  only  twenty-six  companies  had 
been  formed,  and  their  united  capital  amounted  only  to  32  millions 
of  rubles.  The  construction  of  a  vast  net  of  railways  which  were 
to  traverse  the  Empire  in  all  directions  was  planned  and  begun  im- 
mediately after  the  accession  of  Alexander.  Preparatory  steps  were 
also  taken  for  a  reorganization  of  the  army,  and  the  introduction  of 
a  system  of  public  education  comprising  all  degrees,  from  the 
lowest  primary  school  to  the  university.  But  all  these  reforms  were 
eclipsed  by  the  abolition  of  serfage,  a  glorious  act,  which  makes 
Alexander  the  second  founder  of  Russia's  greatness,  and  will  assign 
to  his  reign  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  history  of  civilization.  While 
these  and  other  acts  have  gained  for  Alexander  the  deserved  en- 
comiums of  the  civilized  world,  he  has  justly  been  blamed  for  the 
barbaric  severity  with  which  his  Government  suppressed  the  Polish 
insurrection  in  1863.  Two  attempts  against  the  life  of  the  Emperor, 
which  were  made  in  1866  and  1867,  the  one  in  St.  Petersburg  by  a 
member  of  the  Russian  sect  of  the  Socialists,  the  other  during  a 
visit  to  Paris  by  a  fanatical  Pole,  greatly  diminished  his  reformatory 
zeal.  The  leaders  of  the  anti-reformatory  party  made  Alexander 
believe  that  the  natural  tendency  of  the  reforms  was  the  spreading 
of  wild,  communistic  theories,  and  of  a  spirit  of  general  insubordi- 
nation and  anarchy,  and  they  must  have  made  a  deep  impression 
upon  the  Emperor's  mind,  for  it  is  a  fact  generally  conceded  by 
modern  writers  on  Russia,  that  the  policy  of  the  Russian  Govern- 
ment from  that  time  has  been  less  progressive.  This  is  especially 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

apparent  in  the  determined  opposition  which  the  Government  made 
to  the  many  and  urgent  demands  for  the  introduction  of  a  constitu- 
tional form  of  government.  In  some  departments,  however,  the 
work  of  progress  has  steadily  been  going  on.  The  army  was  a 
second  time  thoroughly  reorganized,  and  improvements  highly  com- 
mendable were  made  in  the  department  of  education,  supplying 
Russia  with  a  national  system  of  schools  which  is  superior  to  that  of 
many  older  countries  of  Europe,  and  promises  to  elevate  the  people 
ere  long  to  a  level  with  the  best  educated  nations  of  the  globe. 
Alexander  has  generally  shown  himself  of  a  mild,  humane  disposi- 
tion, without  being  subject  to  a  weak  sentimentalism.  Having  the 
good  fortune  of  finding  at  the  beginning  of  his  reign  a  statesman 
of  eminent  ability,  Prince  Gortchakoff,  he  has  with  unwavering 
confidence  intrusted  to  his  Chancellor  during  his  entire  reign  the 
supreme  direction  of  the  Russian  foreign  policy.  There  are  not 
manv  traces  of  the  Emperor  demanding  compliance  with  favorite 
views  of  his  own.  Only  in  regard  to  the  maintenance  of  the  most 
intimate  relations  with  Germany  has  he  on  many  occasions  given 
so  emphatic  utterance  to  his  personal  feelings  that  they  may  be  sup- 
posed to  have  guided  the  foreign  policy  of  the  Empire. 

The  Emperor  was  married  in  1841  to  Maria,  daughter  of  the 
Grand  Duke  Ludwig  II.  of  Hesse,  and  his  domestic  life  is  believed 
to  have  been  very  happy.  His  oldest  son,  Nicholas,  was  born  in 
1843,  and  died  in  1865,  having  shortly  before  been  betrothed  to 
Princess  Dagmar  of  Denmark,  daughter  of  King  Christian  IX.  and 
sister  of  the  Princess  of  Wales  and  of  the  King  of  Greece.  After 
the  death  of  Nicholas,  Princess  Dagmar  married  the  second  son  of 
the  Emperor  Alexander,  who  is  now  heir-apparent  to  the  throne,  or, 
as  he  is  called  in  Russia,  Czarevitch.  The  offspring  of  this  union 
are  two  sons  and  one  daughter — Grand  Duke  Nicholas,  born  May 
18,  1868,  and  Grand  Duke  George,  born  May  10,  1871,  and  Grand 
Duchess  Xenia,  born  April  18,  1875.  The  Czarevitch  has  given 
but  few  indications  of  his  future  policy  ;  he  is  generally  represented 
as  not  sharing  altogether  his  father's  views  as  to  the  continuance  of 
intimate  relations  between  Russia  and  Germany,  and  of  being  in 
much  more  outspoken  sympathy  with  the  most  advanced  section 
of  the  Pan-Slavists.  He  is  Adjutant-General  of  the  Emperor,  Gene- 
ral of  the  Infantry  and  of  the  Cavalry,  Commanding  General  of  the 
Guard,  and  Hetman  of  all  the  Cossack  troops. 

Besides   the  Czarevitch,   the  Emperor  has  four  sons,   namely : 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST.  489 

1.  Grand  Duke  Vladimir,  born  April  22, 1847,  and  married  August 
27,  1874,  to  the  Duchess  Maria  of  Mecklenburg  ;  2.  Grand  Duke 
Alexis,  born  January  14,  1850,  and  well-known  by  his  travels  in  the 
United  States  ;  3.  Grand  Duke  Sergius,  born  May  11,  1857 ;  and 
4.  Grand  Duke  Paul,  born  October  3,  1860.  The  only  daughter  of 
the  Emperor,  Grand  Duchess  Maria,  born  October  17,  1853,  was 
married  January  23,  1874,  to  Alfred,  Duke  of  Edinburgh,  the  sec- 
ond son  of  Queen  Victoria  of  England,  and  heir-apparent  to  the 
throne  of  Saxe  Coburg-Gotha. 

The  Emperor  has  three  brothers,  the  Grand  Dukes  Constantine, 
Nicholas,  and  Michael.  The  elder,  Constantine,  born  September  21, 
1827,  is  Grand  Admiral  of  the  Russian  navy  and  President  of  the 
Imperial  Council.  He  was  married  September  11,  1848,  to  Alex- 
andra, daughter  of  the  late  Duke  Joseph  of  Saxe  Alteuburg,  and 
has  from  this  marriage  four  sons  and  two  daughters.  One  of  his 
daughters,  Olga,  is  married  to  the  King  of  Greece.  Grand  Duke 
Constantine  takes  a  special  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  Church  of 
Russia,  and  warmly  patronizes  the  Society  for  Ecclesiastical  Enlight- 
enment, which  endeavors  to  cultivate  a  better  acquaintance  with  the 
churches  of  Central  and  Western  Europe,  and  thereby  to  raise  the 
Russian  Church  to  a  higher  level. 

The  second  brother,  Grand  Duke  Nicholas,  born  August  8,  1831, 
holds  the  most  influential  position  in  the  Russian  army.  He  bears 
the  title  of  a  General  of  Engineers  and  Adjutant-General,  and  is 
President  of  the  Supreme  Council  for  the  organization  and  instruc- 
tion of  the  army.  Having  early  shown  a  predilection  for  military 
studies,  he  received  in  his  youth  the  most  careful  instruction  in  mili- 
tary science,  and  since  his  promotion  to  the  high  position  he  now 
holds,  he  had  given  his  undivided  attention  to  a  thorough  reorgani- 
zation of  the  Russian  army.  On  the  approach  of  the  present  war, 
the  Grand  Duke  proposed  to  the  Emperor  that  the  State  should  take 
charge  of  ah1  the  families  which  might  be  deprived  by  the  war  of 
their  supporters.  The  request  was  granted  by  the  Emperor,  and  has 
of  course  gained  for  the  Grand  Duke  an  immense  popularity  with 
the  Russian  army.  He  was  appointed  Commander-in-chief  of  the 
European  army,  and  his  departure  for  the  South,  on  December  1, 
1876,  was  made  the  occasion  for  a  most  enthusiastic  ovation. 

The  youngest  brother  of  the  Emperor,  Grand  Duke  Michael,  was 
appointed  Commander-in-chief  of  the  army  of  operations  in  Asia. 
Grand  Duke  Michael  was  born  on  October  25,  1832,  and  received  a 
26 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

military  education  similar  to  that  of  his  brothers.  Like  them,  he 
has  long  been  invested  with  the  highest  military  dignities.  He  is 
General  of  the  Artillery,  Quartermaster-General,  Imperial  Adjutant- 
General,  and  chief  of  eight  Russian  and  several  foreign  regiments. 
He  has  been  married  since  August  28,  1857,  with  Princess  Caecilia 
of  Baden  (now  called  Olga  Feodorovna),  and  has  six  children,  five 
Bons,  Nicholas,  Michael,  George,  Alexander,  and  Sergius,  and  one 
daughter,  Anastasia.  On  February  26,  1873,  the  Grand  Duke  was 
appointed  Governor-General  of  the  Caucasus,  an  office  with  which 
the  chief  command  of  the  troops  is  connected.  The  residence  of 
the  Grand  Duke  and  his  family  in  Tiflis  has  impressed  upon  this 
Asiatic  city  the  character  of  European  civilization.  Though  always 
very  active  in  the  discharge  of  his  military  duties,  the  Grand  Duke 
has  taken  a  special  interest  in  promoting  European  civilization  in 
the  Asiatic  dominions  of  Russia,  and  is  regarded  as  a  patron  of 
science  and  art.  When  the  telegraphic  dispatch  from  Kishenev, 
which  ordered  him  to  cross  the  Turkish  frontier,  was  received  in 
Tiflis,  the  Grand  Duke  was  already  on  his  way  to  Alexandropol. 
The  order  was  sent  after  him,  and  as  everything  had  been  fully  pre- 
pared, could  be  immediately  carried  out.  The  Grand  Duke  was 
accompanied  to  the  army  by  his  eldest  son  Nicholas,  born  in  1859, 
and,  therefore,  now  nineteen  years  of  age. 

The  only  sister  of  the  Emperor,  Grand  Duchess  Olga,  born  Sep- 
tember 11,  1822,  is  married  to  the  King  of  Wurtemberg. 

When  the  war  against  Turkey  had  been  declared,  the  Czar,  the 
Czarevitch,  and  all  the  adult  members  of  the  Imperial  family,  joined 
the  advancing  armies,  the  chief  commanders  of  which,  as  has  already 
been  stated,  were  the  two  brothers  of  the  Emperor. 

Abdul  Hamid  II.,  the  present  ruler  of  Turkey,  is  the  second  son 
of  the  late  Sultan,  Abdul  Medjid,  and  the  thirty-fourth  Sultan  of 
the  Ottoman  Empire.  He  was  born  Sept.  22,  1842,  and  succeeded 
his  brother,  Murad  Y.,  August  31,  1876.  Little  was  known  of  him 
up  to  the  time  when  the  revolutionary  movements  in  Constantinople 
unexpectedly  elevated  him  to  the  throne.  His  mother  having  died 
young,  he  was  adopted  by  the  second  wife  of  his  father,  herself 
childless,  who  is  very  wealthy,  and  has  made  him  heir  to  all  her 
property.  It  is  said  that  his  initiation  into  the  depravities  of  harem 
life  was  unusually  early  and  complete,  but  that  his  vigorous  consti- 
tution withstood  the  excesses  that  undermined  his  brother's  health. 
His  education,  like  that  of  his  brother  Murad,  was  partly  conducted 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST. 


491 


by  Edhem  Pasha,  who,  in  February,  1877,  was  appointed  by  him 
Grand  Yizier.  In  1867,  he,  with  his  brother  Murad,  accompanied 
his  uncle,  Sultan  Abdul-Aziz,  to  the  Paris  Exhibition,  and  from  this 
journey  he  derived  a  great  fondness  for  the  study  of  geography, 
which  has  ever  since  constituted  his  favorite  pastime.  Although  he 
has  always  shown  himself  a  staunch  adherent  of  the  Mohammedan 
creed,  and  was,  therefore,  supposed  to  sympathize  as  Sultan  with  the 
"  Old  Turkish  "  rather  than  the  "  Young  Turkish  "  party,  he  has 
introduced  French  customs  and  demeanor  into  the  daily  life  of  those 
by  whom  he  is  intimately  surrounded.  Before  he  was  called  to  the 
throne,  he  resided  with  his  wife  and  two  children,  a  boy  of  six  years 
and  a  girl  of  three  years,  in  a  small  palace  which  he  had  inherited 
from  his  father.  Abdul-Hamid  has  been  placed  upon  the  throne 
during  the  greatest  crisis  through  which  the  Ottoman  Empire  has 
yet  passed.  Though  supposed  to  sympathize  with  the  Old  Turks, 
he  followed  during  the  first  months  of  his  reign  the  wise  counsels  of 
Turkey's  greatest  statesman,  Midhat  Pasha  ;  and  while  intimidated 
by  the  urgent  demands  of  the  Constantinople  Conference,  even  gave 
his  assent  to  Midhat  Pasha's  bold  draft  of  a  Turkish  Constitution. 
But  only  a  few  weeks  later  the  sudden  discharge,  from  the  most 
despicable  motives,  of  Midhat  Pasha,  gave  to  the  world  an  unmis- 
takable proof  of  the  utter  incapacity  and  worthlessness  of  the  young 
Sultan.  His  conduct  throughout  the  war  has  confirmed  the  unfavor- 
able opinion  which  has  quite  generally  been  formed  of  his  character. 
While  the  Russian  Czar,  his  sons,  brothers,  and  nephews,  are  taking 
an  active  part  in  the  campaign,  and  on  many  occasions  have  personally 
shared  the  dangers  and  privations  of  the  war,  Abdul-Hamid  has  not 
left  his  harem  for  a  single  day,  and  what  has  become  known  of  his 
words  and  deeds,  has  only  exerted  a  chilling  influence  upon  the  de- 
moralized Turkish  army.  "When,  therefore,  a  report  spread  in  July, 
1877,  that  Abdul-Hamid,  being  tired  of  the  cares  of  government, 
intended  to  resign  in  favor  of  his  cousin,  Izzedin  Pasha,  the  eldest 
son  of  Abdul  Aziz,  it  found  ready  credence. 

Abdul  Aziz,  who  ruled  over  the  Ottoman  Empire  when  the  insur- 
rection of  1875  began,  was  the  thirty-second  Sultan.  He  was  born 
Feb.  9,  1830,  and  succeeded  his  brother,  Abdul  Medjid,  June  25, 
1861.  His  early  life  and  the  first  years  of  his  reign  awakened  a 
general  hope  that  he  would  inaugurate  an  era  of  reform,  and  possi- 
bly regenerate  the  decaying  Empire.  These  hopes  were,  however, 
doomed  to  disappointment,  and  the  Empire  during  his  reign  rapidly 


492 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


advanced  on  the  road  to  ruin  and  dissolution.  Turkey  had  at  this 
time  many  statesmen  of  more  than  ordinary  ability,  who  were 
anxious  to  arrest  the  progressive  decay  of  the  Empire,  and  to  place 
the  country  on  a  level  with  the  civilized  nations  of  Europe  and 
America.  But  their  advice  was  not  heeded  ;  and  the  Sultan,  indif- 
ferent about  the  financial  ruin  of  the  country,  and  the  dangers  which 
threatened  its  very  existence,  wasted  the  greater  part  of  the  loans  by 
which  some  of  his  ministers  hoped  to  restore  the  national  credit,  for 
the  most  trivial  purposes.  The  feeble  hold  which  the  Ottoman  Porte 
had  had  for  some  time  of  its  Christian  dependencies,  was  still  fur- 
ther weakened  by  still  further  concessions  which  were  extorted 
by  the  Rumanians  and  Servians.  In  Rumania,  the  election  of 
Prince  Charles  of  Hohenzollern  secured  the  permanent  conver- 
sion of  this  country  from  an  elective  into  a  hereditary  monarchy, 
and  was  an  important  approach  toward  its  entire  independence. 
In  Servia,  the  Turkish  garrison  had  to  be  withdrawn  from  the 
fortress  of  Belgrade,  and  complete  political  autonomy  to  be 
granted.  The  ruler  of  Egypt,  Ismail  Pasha,  succeeded  in  obtaining 
the  higher  title  of  Khedive,  nearly  all  the  prerogatives  of  an  inde- 
pendent sovereign  and  a  change  of  the  law  of  succession  in  Egypt, 
so  as  to  make  it  conform  to  that  prevailing  in  all  the  Christian 
States  of  Europe.  When  the  insurrection  in  Herzegovina,  in  1875, 
involved  the  Empire  in  new  and  immediate  dangers,  the  Sultan,  al- 
though only  forty-five  years  of  age,  bore  in  his  body  and  mind  the 
marks  of  utter  senile  infirmity.  The  insatiable  avarice  which 
prompted  him  to  appropriate,  even  in  the  most  imperilled  condition 
of  the  country,  all  the  money  that  could  be  raised  for  personal  pur- 
poses, would  have  hastened  the  downfall  of  the  Empire,  had  not  two 
of  the  greatest  Turkish  statesmen,  Hussein  Avni  Pasha  and  Mid- 
hat  Pasha,  brought  his  reign  to  a  sudden  end,  by  proclaiming 
Murad  V.,  the  son  of  the  late  Sultan  Abdul  Medjid,  and  nephew  of 
Abdul  Aziz,  and  by  forcibly  dethroning  Abdul  Aziz.  The  de- 
throned Sultan  survived  his  fate  only  for  a  few  weeks,  and  his  sud- 
den death  was  declared  by  the  testimony  of  a  number  of  physicians 
to  have  been  caused  by  suicide. 

Sultan  Murad  V.,  the  eldest  son  of  the  late  Sultan  Abdul  Medjid, 
and  elder  brother  of  the  present  Sultan,  Abdul  Hamid,  occupied  the 
throne  of  the  Ottoman  Empire  for  a  few  weeks  only.  He  was  born 
September  21,  1840,  and  was  educated  together  with  his  brother, 
Abdul  Hamid.  During  their  stay  in  France,  Murad  gave  himself 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST. 


493 


np  to  dissipations  which  seriously  undermined  his  health.  Having 
returned  to  Constantinople,  he  continued  his  excesses,  and  shattered 
his  entire  system  by  intemperate  habits.  After  the  accession  of  his 
uncle,  Abdul  Aziz,  to  the  throne  in  1861,  he  was  treated  very 
harshly,  and  shut  out  from  all  public  affairs,  as  his  uncle  was  anxious 
to  change  the  law  of  succession,  and  to  leave  the  throne  to  his  own  son, 
Izzedin,  in  the  place  of  Murad,  who,  according  to  the  Turkish  law, 
was  the  heir-apparent,  because  he  was  the  next  oldest  male  member 
of  the  Imperial  family  born  in  the  Imperial  harem.  Upon  the  de- 
thronement of  his  uncle  by  a  palace  revolution,  on  May  30, 1876,  Mu- 
rad was  called  to  the  throne,  and — the  first  instance  in  Turkish  history 
— was  proclaimed  as  "  Emperor  by  the  grace  of  God  and  the  will  of  the 
nation."  Soon,  however,  it  became  evident  that  the  condition,  both 
of  his  mind  and  his  bodily  health,  made  him  utterly  unfit  for  being 
the  head  of  the  State  in  these  troubled  times.  In  consequence,  his 
brother,  Abdul  Hamid,  was  appointed  Regent  on  July  29th,  and  on 
August  31st,  Murad  was  dethroned,  and  Abdul  Hamid  proclaimed 
Sultan  in  his  place.  According  to  a  letter  from  a  person  of  rank  in 
the  Turkish  capital,  published  in  the  London  Times  of  June  15th, 
Murad  looked  upon  his  brother  as  a  usurper,  and  declared  that  some 
day  he  would  have  to  ask  an  account  of  him.  He  also  declared  him- 
self strongly  in  favor  of  peace,  as  the  country  had  the  misfortune  of 
no  longer  possessing  a  good  administration.  The  letter  in  the  Times 
produced  a  great  sensation,  and  the  Turkish  Government  deemed  it 
necessary  to  publish  an  official  denial  of  all  the  assertions  contained 
in  it. 

Ismail  Pasha,  the  ruler  of  Egypt,  is  the  second  son  of  the  great 
warrior,  Ibrahim  Pasha,  and  grandson  of  Mehemet  Ah',  the  first 
Viceroy  of  Egypt.  He  was  born  in  1830,  and  received  his  education 
in  Paris.  He  acceded  to  the  Government  of  Egypt  in  1863,  after 
the  death  of  his  uncle,  Said  Pasha.  His  reign  abounds  in  important 
events.  The  opening  of  the  Suez  Canal  in  1869,  which  was  attended 
by  the  Empress  of  France,  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  the  Crown  Prince 
of  Prussia,  and  the  representatives  of  the  principal  newspapers  in 
Europe  and  America,  foreshadowed  a  new  era  of  power  and  inde- 
pendence for  a  country  which  had  been  so  famous  in  the  history  of 
the  ancient  world.  Ismail  had  contemplated  from  the  beginning  of 
his  reign  the  severance  of  all  connection  with  Turkey,  and  though 
want  of  sympathy  of  the  great  powers  of  Europe  with  this  project 
caused  him  to  desist  from  an  open  war  of  independence,  he  has 


494 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


gradually  obtained  important  concessions  from  the  Porte.  By  con- 
ferring upon  him  the  higher  title  of  Khedive,  and  by  changing  the  law 
of  succession  so  as  to  make  it,  in  accordance  with  the  laws  obtaining 
in  Christian  Europe,  hereditary  in  the  direct  line  of  Ismail,  the 
Porte  herself  smoothed  the  way  for  the  future  independence  of 
Egypt.  A  still  more  efficient  preparation  for  this  event  may  be 
found  in  the  annexation  of  large  tracts  of  land  west  and  south  of 
Egypt,  especially  of  the  entire  kingdom  of  Darfoor.  Even  now 
the  Khedive  of  Egypt  rules  over  a  country  which,  in  point  of  extent, 
is  the  seventh  among  the  large  countries  of  the  globe,  and  none  of 
the  others  certainly  has  a  better  prospect  of  further  territorial  progress 
under  an  energetic  ruler.  By  the  convocation  of  an  assembly  of  nota- 
bles, a  beginning  was  made  in  1866  of  introducing  parliamentary 
government.  Numerous  Europeans  and  Americans  were  employed 
in  the  civil  and  military  service  of  Egypt,  and  promoted  to  the 
highest  offices,  and  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  the  Khedive 
would  have  succeeded  in  establishing  the  entire  independence  of 
Egypt,  had  it  not  been  for  the  utterly  disordered  condition  of  his 
finances.  It  has  been  a  matter  of  surprise  that  the  embarrassed  po- 
sition of  Turkey  in  1877  did  not  induce  the  Khedive  to  declare  his 
own  independence ;  that  he  even,  the  only  one  of  the  vassals  of  Tur- 
key, came  to  the  aid  of  the  Sultan  by  sending  an  auxiliary  force  to 
the  seat  of  war.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  Khedive  can 
not  change  his  relations  to  Turkey  without  having  the  support,  or  at 
least  the  sympathy,  of  England,  and  that  England  at  present  finds  it 
her  interest  to  patronize  Turkey. 

Prince  Charles  I.  of  Rumania,  the  second  son  of  Prince  Charles 
Anthony  of  Hohenzollern,  was  born  April  20,  1839.  His  father 
was  a  sovereign  prince  of  Germany,  until  1849,  when  he  ceded  the 
sovereignty  over  the  little  principality  of  Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen 
to  the  kindred  royal  house  of  Prussia.  His  son  Charles  was,  in  April, 
1866,  elected,  almost  unanimously,  Prince  of  Rumania  by  a  popular 
vote  of  the  country.  The  election  was  accepted  by  the  young  Prince 
after  a  short  hesitation,  and  on  May  22d,  he  entered  the  capital  of 
the  country,  Bucharest,  where  he  was  enthusiastically  received  by 
the  people.  The  task  of  Prince  Charles  was  extremely  difficult,  for 
the  condition  of  the  people  was  in  many  respects  wretched.  Hardly 
anything  had  been  done  for  the  education  of  the  people ;  the  state 
of  the  finances  was  most  deplorable,  and  the  bitter  strife  of  opposing 
political  parties  appeared  to  make  a  stable  government  almost  im- 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST.  495 

possible.  It  is  generally  conceded  that  the  principality  has  made 
great  progress  during  the  reign  of  Prince  Charles.  The  education 
and  financial  condition  of  the  country  have  greatly  improved,  and 
the  aim  which  all  the  political  parties  of  Rumania  have  invariably 
kept  in  view,  has  steadily  been  approached.  The  Prince  of  Ruma- 
nia, in  common  with  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  leaders  of  all  the 
political  parties,  has  always  conformed  the  foreign  policy  of  the  prin- 
cipality to  this  aim.  Since  the  beginning  of  the  troubles  in  1875,  he 
has  alternately  been  ready  to  join  the  insurrection  against  the  Porte, 
or  to  proclaim  his  neutrality,  according  as  the  interest  of  the  princi- 
pality appeared  to  demand  it.  After  the  declaration  of  war  by  Rus- 
sia, the  long-awaited  time  for  proclaiming  the  independence  of  Ru- 
mania appeared  to  have  come.  Rumania  declared  war  against  Tur- 
key, and  Prince  Charles  thus  became  the  first  sovereign  of  an  inde- 
pendent Rumanian  State. 

Milan  IY.  Obrenovitch,  Prince  of  Servia,  was  born  Sept.  18, 1854, 
and  is  the  fourth  Prince  of  Servia  from  the  house  Obrenovitch.  His 
father  died  soon  after  his  birth,  and  his  mother,  a  Wallachian  Princess, 
after  conducting  his  education  for  some  time  herself,  sent  him  to 
Paris,  into  the  institution  of  Professor  Huet.  He  remained  there 
until  the  fourteenth  year  of  his  age,  when  he  was  elected  Prince  of 
Servia,  to  succeed  his  assassinated  grand  uncle,  Michael  III.  A  regency 
consisting  of  three  distinguished  statesmen  carried  on  the  Govern- 
ment in  his  name  until  August  22, 1872,  when  Milan  assumed  him- 
self the  reins  of  government.  An  immense  crowd,  greater  than  had 
ever  been  seen  there  before,  assembled  in  Belgrade  to  witness  the 
coronation  festivities.  On  this,  as  on  every  subsequent  occasion,  the 
people  of  Servia  did  not  conceal  their  ardent  hope  that  the  young 
Prince  would  succeed  in  wholly  severing  the  connection  of  Servia 
with  Turkey,  and  re-establish  an  independent  Servian  Empire.  The 
insurrection  of  the  oppressed  Christians  in  Bosnia  in  1875,  appeared 
to  afford  the  right  opportunity  for  the  realization  of  these  hopes.  In< 
1876,  Servia  declared  war  against  Turkey,  and  the  Servian  army,, 
which  was  commanded  by  the  Russian  General  Tchernayeff,  pro^ 
claimed  Milan  King  of  Servia  ;  but  the  disapprobation  of  this  step> 
by  the  great  powers  of  Europe,  compelled  Milan  to  decline  the  offered, 
dignity,  and  even  the  proclamation  of  the  independence  of  Servia.  The- 
Servian  war  ended  in  a  complete  victory  of  the  Turks,  and  the  confi- 
dence of  a  large  portion  of  the  Servian  people  in  Milan  was  conse- 
quently shaken.  There  were  rumors  of  conspiracies  against  Milan,  aim- 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

ing  at  either  placing  Prince  Karageorgevitch,  the  representative  of  a 
rival  family,  and  the  reputed  author  of  the  assassination  of  Prince 
Michael  III.,  upon  the  Servian  throne,  or  of  uniting  Servia  with 
Montenegro  under  the  rule  of  Prince  Nicholas  of  the  latter  country. 
The  treaty  of  peace  which  concluded  the  war  between  Russia  and 
Turkey  recognized  the  independence  of  Servia,  and  thus  made  Prince 
Milan  the  first  sovereign  of  the  restored  Servian  State. 

Prince  Nicholas  of  Montenegro  is  one  of  the  most  popular  and 
idolized  princes  of  the  present  age.  He  was  born  on  September  25, 
1841,  and  received  his  first  instruction  at  Cettigne,  under  the  per- 
sonal inspection  of  his  predecessor,  Prince  Danilo.  Subsequently, 
he  continued  his  studies  in  Trieste,  and  in  1855  Danilo  sent  him  to 
Paris,  where  he  entered  the  military  academy.  In  the  spring  after 
the  assassination  of  Prince  Danilo,  he  was  proclaimed  Prince  of  Mon- 
tenegro. In  the  autumn  of  1860  he  married  the  beautiful  daughter 
of  the  Waywode  Yukovitch,  Milena,  by  whom  he  has  one  son,  Dan- 
ilo, born  in  1871,  and  six  daughters.  The  assassinated  Prince  Mich- 
ael of  Servia  was  godfather  to  the  first  three  children,  and  the  Em- 
peror Alexander  to  the  others.  Nicholas  has  made  several  journeys 
through  Europe,  and  has  been  received  with  marked  distinction  at 
the  Courts  of  Austria,  Germany,  Russia,  and  Italy.  In  Russia  he 
was  even  treated  as  a  member  of  the  Imperial  family.  Prince  Nich- 
olas is  a  very  accomplished  scholar.  He  speaks  the  Servian,  French, 
Italian,  German,  and  Russian  languages,  and  has  distinguished  him- 
self as  a  poet.  The  best  known  among  his  poems,  "Onamo,  Ona~ 
mo,  sa  T>rda  ona"  (Yonder,  yonder,  behind  that  Mountain),  is  full 
of  patriotic  fire,  and  expresses  the  longing  of  the  Servian  nationality 
for  deliverance  and  reunion.  It  has  become  a  favorite  song  of  the 
Servian  race,  not  only  in  Montenegro,  but  in  Servia,  Bosnia,  and  the 
Servian  provinces  of  Austria.  Prince  Nicholas  is  greatly  beloved  by 
his  own  people.  He  takes  part  in  all  the  pleasures  of  his  subjects, 
mixing  in  the  athletic  sports,  casting  the  stone,  pitching  quoits,  laugh- 
ing, frolicking,  quizzing ;  one  morning  firing  at  a  mark,  another  sit- 
ting as  umpire  in  a  quoit  match  of  his  guard,  passing  the  evenings 
at  games  of  dexterity  with  his  staff  and  his  guests,  in  all  cases  taking 
his  part  of  the  consequences  of  the  game  in  perfect  good  humor,  and 
from  his  sheer  herculean  physical  force  always  getting  the  best  in 
the  rough  games.  "  I  have  seen  him  weep,"  writes  a  correspondent, 
"  in  the  midst  of  all  his  guards  as  a  poor  old  mother  came  with  the 
cap  of  her  only  son  (killed  at  Rogami)  in  her  hand,  to  salute  her 


WILHELM,  EMPEKOR    OF    GERMANY. 


THE    EMPEROR    OF    AUSTRIA. 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST, 


499 


Prince  in  the  high-street,  not  to  ask  for  charity,  but  for  sympathy. 
He  turned  to  me  to  tell  me  her  story,  but  he  could  hardly  speak  for 
emotion." 

The  Emperor  William  of  Germany  has  risen  during  the  last 
twelve  years  from  the  position  of  the  head  of  the  smallest  of  the 
so-called  Great  Powers  to  be  the  leading  sovereign  of  Europe.  He 
gained  the  first  step  toward  the  increase  of  his  kingdom  in  1866, 
when  he  wrested  from  Austria  the  supremacy  of  influence  in  Ger- 
many, and  made  Prussia  the  head  of  the  North  German  Confedera- 
tion. The  war  with  France  in  1870-'71  was  followed  by  the  union 
of  the  German  States  for  national  purposes  into  the  German  Em- 
pire, and  the  proclamation  of  "William  as  Emperor.  This  position, 
combined  with  the  prestige  which  he  won  through  the  excellence  of 
his  civil  administration  and  the  skillful  handling  of  the  German 
armies,  has  given  him  and  his  State  an  influence  which  no  other 
power,  has  yet  ventured  to  question.  He  has  been  for  many  years 
the  confidential  friend  and  trusted  adviser  of  the  Czar  of  Russia, 
who  is  his  nephew.  As  a  member  of  the  Tri-Imperial  Alliance,  he 
has  had  much  to  do  with  the  consultations  and  discussions  which 
have  taken  place  in  regard  to  Eastern  affairs,  and  is  credited  with 
having  often  used  his  influence  to  smooth  away  the  differences  that 
have  arisen  between  Russia  and  her  rivals — Austria  and  Great 
Britain.  The  ties  of  relationship  and  personal  friendship  have 
caused  him  to  sympathize  with  the  Czar,  and  so  to  manage  his  me- 
diations as  to  disarrange  as  little  as  possible  the  plans  of  the  Rus- 
sians. 

The  Emperor  Francis  Joseph  of  Austria-Hungary,  although  he 
represents  the  State  which,  next  to  the  belligerents,  has  the  most 
direct  and  intense  interest  in  the  settlement  of  the  questions  of  the 
war,  has  taken  but  little  active  part  in  the  movements  relating  to  it. 
A  weak  sovereign  of  a  State  that  is  in  a  decline,  his  reign  has  been 
unfortunate.  He  came  into  power  after  the  close  of  the  revolution- 
ary movements  of  1848,  when  his  uncle,  the  Emperor  Ferdinand, 
having  been  proved  incompetent  to  meet  requirements  of  his  posi- 
tion, abdicated,  to  give  way  to  a  younger  man,  who,  it  was  hoped, 
would  be  able  to  meet  the  new  situation  with  greater  vigor.  He 
brought  only  common  abilities  to  face  duties  which  required  extra- 
ordinary ones.  A  few  years  after  his  accession,  he  was  obliged  to 
give  up  some  of  the  best  provinces  of  the  Empire  in  Italy  ;  the  war 
with  Prussia  in  1866  resulted  in  depriving  Austria  of  its  influence 


500  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

in  Germany.  Austria  was  then  obliged,  in  order  to  preserve 
its  existence,  to  arrange  a  compromise  and  divide  its  sovereignty 
with  the  strongest  of  its  disaffected  nationalities,  the  Hungarians ; 
and  it  has  since  been  distracted  by  the  conflicting  claims  of  its  other 
rival  nationalities.  The  Emperor  has  taken  but  little  part  in  the 
adjustment  of  these  troubles,  but  has  left  them  all,  as  well  as  the 
negotiations  with  relation  to  Turkish  affairs,  involving  matters 
relating  immediately  to  the  internal  condition  of  the  Empire,  wholly 
to  his  chancellors.  He  is  supposed  to  be  rather  more  in  sympathy 
Math  the  German  party,  which  is  not  strongly  hostile  to  Russia,  than 
with  the  Hungarian  party,  which  is  intensely  Turkish  and  anti- 
Russian. 

The  Queen  of  England  has  less  actual  influence  over  the  public 
affairs  of  the  nation  than  the  head  of  any  existing  State.  Hence, 
the  views  of  Queen  Victoria  are  really  of  less  importance  than  those 
of  her  ministers,  of  the  members  of  Parliament,  upon  whom  the 
ministers  depend  for  official  existence,  or  even  than  those  of  prom- 
inent citizens.  The  Queen  is  personally  allied  to  the  German 
Emperor  by  the  marriage  of  one  of  her  daughters,  and  with  the 
Czar  by  the  marriage  of  her  second  son,  and  might  be  expected  to 
be  influenced  somewhat  by  the  consideration  of  these  facts  ;  on  the 
other  hand,  she  can  not  forget  that  the  integrity  of  her  new  title  of 
Empress  of  India  is  thought  by  many  leaders  of  the  dominant 
party  of  her  nation  to  be  seriously  imperilled  by  the  success  of  the 
Russians  and  the  defeat  of  the  Turks.  Prince  Albert,  the  late  hus- 
band of  the  Queen,  was  a  strong  friend  of  Turkey  during  the 
Crimean  war ;  and  her  Majesty,  so  far  as  she  has  expressed  herself, 
has  been  supposed  to  incline  to  the  same  side. 

Marshal  Marie-Edme-Patrice-Maurice  de  MacMahon,  Duke  of 
Magenta,  and  President  of  the  French  Republic,  is  of  Irish  descent, 
and  was  born  in  1808.  He  entered  the  military  service  of  France 
in  1825,  and  has  served  his  country  in  many  important  military  and 
official  positions.  He  distinguished  himself  during  the  Crimean 
war  in  the  storming  of  the  Malakoff  at  Sebastopol  on  the  8th  of 
September,  1855.  He  served  with  success  in  the  Italian  campaign 
of  1859,  where  he  received  his  ducal  title.  He  was  appointed 
Governor  of  Algeria  in  1862,  but  his  administration  was  a  failure. 
He  was  a  prominent  commander  of  French  troops  in  the  war  with 
Prussia  in  1870,  in  which  he  suffered  several  defeats,  culminating 
in  the  surrender  of  the  army  and  the  collapse  of  the  French  power 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST. 


501 


at  Sedan  on  the  2d  of  September.  He  was  wounded  iii  the  action 
at  this  place,  and  was  obliged  to  retire  from  command,  so  that  he 
escaped  the  mortification  of  personally  signing  the  capitulation.  He 
afterward  successfully  conducted  the  siege  of  Paris  against  the  Com- 
mune. He  was  elected  President  of  the  Republic  to  succeed  M. 
Thiers  on  his  resignation  in  May,  1873.  In  November  of  the  same 
year  the  term  of  his  office  as  President  was  definitely  fixed  at  seven 
years.  The  French  Government  was  represented  during  the  nego- 
tiations of  1875  and  1876,  and  was  one  of  the  signataries  of  the 
Andrassy  note  and  the  Berlin  memorandum.  During  the  most  of 
1877,  the  attention  of  President  MacMahon  and  the  French  people 
was  engrossed  with  the  settlement  of  questions  of  internal  politics, 
and  no  interference  was  attempted  in  Eastern  affairs.  President 
MacMahon  is  devoted  to  the  interests  of  France,  and  his  views  on 
Eastern  topics  are  governed  wholly  by  the  consideration  of  those 
interests.  Relating  chiefly  to  Syria,  the  interests  have  not  been 
directly  affected  by  anything  that  has  yet  taken  place. 

The  present  King  of  Italy,  having  been  upon  the  throne  only  a 
few  weeks,  has  had  very  little  to  do,  officially,  with  the  discussions 
to  which  Turkish  affairs  have  given  rise.  He  became  king  in  Jan- 
uary, 1878,  upon  the  death  of  his  father,  lung  Yictor  Emmanuel. 
The  late  king,  as  King  of  Sardinia,  participated  in  the  Crimean  war 
as  the  ally  of  France,  Great  Britain,  and  Turkey,  against  Russia. 
In  the  recent  controversy,  he  gave  his  signature  to  the  Andrassy 
note  and  the  Berlin  memorandum,  but  afterward,  when  Russia  and 
Turkey  went  to  war,  committed  his  Government  to  a  policy  of  un- 
conditioned neutrality.  The  visit  made  by  Signer  Crispi  in  the  fall 
of  1877  to  the  continental  courts  was  supposed  to  be  semi-official  in 
its  character,  and  to  involve  the  presentation  of  the  views  of  the 
King  upon  the  Eastern  as  well  as  upon  other  questions ;  but  nothing 
is  publicly  known  of  its  nature  further  than  that  Crispi  proposed 
an  enlargement  of  Greece  and  the  formation  of  a  Slavic  con- 
federacy. King  Humbert  was  trained  in  a  period  of  iconoclastic 
revolution  and  of  the  advancement  of  liberal  ideas.  He  is  regarded 
as  even  more  progressive  and  liberal  than  his  father,  whose  reforms 
were  so  radical,  vigorous,  and  bold  as  to  astonish  the  whole  world. 
He  is  strongly  attached  by  personal  friendship  to  the  Crown  Prince 
of  Germany,  and  his  views  and  policy  with  reference  to  the  affairs 
of  the  East  may  be  in  a  considerable  degree  affected  by  his  sym- 
pathy with  Germany.  In  his  address  at  the  opening  of  the  Italian 


502 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


Parliament,  March  7th,  he  stated  that  he  had  unhesitatingly  assented 
to  the  Conference  of  the  powers,  desiring  to  secure  a  durable  peace 
for  Europe,  and  expressed  the  belief  that  the  impartiality  of  his 
government  would  give  greater  value  to  its  counsels,  while  the  re- 
cent history  of  the  country  would  afford  "  a  convincing  argument 
for  supporting  the  solutions  most  in  conformity  with  justice  and 
the  rights  of  humanity."  The  views  of  King  Humbert  with  regard 
to  the  final  settlement  are  liable  to  be  affected  by  the  desires  and 
movements  of  Austria.  That  Empire  still  possesses  some  Italian 
cities  and  provinces  in  which  the  Italian  population  is  in  the  ma- 
jority or  considerable.  Humbert  would  therefore  be  disposed  to 
join  any  anti- Austrian  combination,  or  if  any  of  the  Turkish  ter- 
ritory were  annexed  to  that  Empire,  to  demand  compensation  for 
Italy  in  the  cession  of  some  of  the  Italian  possessions  of  Austria. 

The  Chancellor  of  Russia,  Prince  Alexander  Michailovitch  Gort- 
chakoff,  is  universally  recognized  as  one  of  the  greatest  statesmen  of 
the  nineteenth  century.  He  was  born  on  July  16,  1798,  and  was 
appointed  Russian  Minister  a  few  weeks  before  the  conclusion  of 
the  Treaty  of  Paris,  April  29,  1856.  Both  in  point  of  age  and  of 
duration  of  office  he  excels  all  other  statesmen  in  Europe.  He  is 
seventeen  years  older  than  Prince  Bismarck,  and  twenty-five  years 
older  than  Count  Andrassy,  and  was  intrusted  with  the  heavy  re- 
sponsibility of  steering  the  politics  of  one  of  the  great  world-empires 
six  years  before  Bismarck,  and  fifteen  years  before  Andrassy.  Soon 
after  entering  upon  his  office,  he  defined  his  political  programme 
by  the  celebrated  word,  "  La  Russie  se  recueiMe "  (Russia  collects 
herself),  and  during  twenty-one  years  he  has  aimed  with  singular 
steadiness  of  purpose  at  carrying  through  this  programme,  and  at 
accomplishing  the  work  in  which  his  country  had  failed  during  the 
Crimean  war.  The  chief  features  of  this  policy  were  the  greatest 
possible  reserve  in  all  international  complications  and  the  introduc- 
tion of  such  reforms  as  would  tend  toward  developing  the  immense 
resources  of  the  Empire.  Thus  Russia  is  indebted  to  him  for  the 
long  peace  she  has  enjoyed  since  the  Paris  Treaty  of  1856,  and  for 
reforms  like  the  abolition  of  serfdom,  two  thorough  reorganizations 
of  the  army,  and  the  construction  of  an  extensive  railroad  net.  The 
abolition  of  serfdom  in  particular  was  not  merely  a  philanthropic 
measure,  but,  by  preparing  a  universal  liability  to  military  service, 
it  was  still  more  intended,  by  the  sagacious  statesman,  as  a  means  of 
strengthening  the  military  power  of  the  Empire.  During  the  war 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST. 


503 


between  Austria  and  France,  in  1859,  Russia  observed  a  complete 
neutrality.  She  had  no  sympathy  with  either  of  the  belligerent 
powers,  one  of  which,  France,  had  been,  during  the  Crimean  war, 
her  open  enemy,  while  the  other  had  "  surprised  her  by  ingratitudes." 
A  few  years  later  Gortchakoff  had  an  opportunity  to  give  a  con- 
spicuous proof  of  his  statesmanship.  Some  of  the  European  powers 
showed  a  disposition  to  meddle  with  the  Polish  question,  and  Austria, 
France,  and  England  addressed  identical  notes  to  Russia.  The  answer 
of  Gortchakoff  to  these  notes  was  so  firm  and  energetic  that  it  put 
an  immediate  end  to  the  diplomatic  complications.  Austria  had 
even  to  bear  with  the  blunt  remark  that  it  would  do  better  to  check 
the  dangerous  tendencies  in  its  Polish  provinces  by  measures  ap- 
propriate both  for  its  own  interests  and  for  its  international  relations. 
This  defiant  attitude  toward  Austria  was  maintained  for  several 
years,  and  Gortchakoff,  on  one  occasion,  gave  vent  to  his  anti- 
Austrian  feelings  by  the  contemptuous  remark :  "  Austria  is  not  a 
State,  it  is  only  a  Government."  On  the  other  hand,  Gortchakoff 
established  the  most  intimate  relations  between  Russia  and  Prussia. 
Though  not  taking  an  active  part  in  the  Franco-German  war  of  1870, 
the  Russian  Government  made  an  unreserved  display  of  its  sympa- 
thy with  Prussia,  and  thereby  made  it  impossible  for  Austria  to 
avail  herself  of  the  troubles  of  Prussia.  This  friendly  relation  con- 
tinued without  the  slightest  disturbance  until  and  through  the  great 
Eastern  war,  and  proved  of  great  advantage  to  Russia.  Only  four 
days  after  the  capitulation  of  Metz,  Gortchakoff  wrote  the  celebrated 
circular  dispatch  concerning  the  Pontus  question,  in  which  he  in- 
formed the  surprised  statesmen  of  Europe  that  Russia  could  no 
longer  abide  by  that  article  of  the  Paris  Treaty  which  excluded  the 
Russian  flag  from  the  Black  Sea.  The  Cabinets  of  Yienna  and  Lon- 
don were  very  reluctant  to  consent  to  this  unauthorized  and  one-sided 
repeal  of  an  article  of  an  international  treaty ;  but  France  being 
powerless,  and  Germany  on  the  side  of  Russia,  they  saw  that  further 
opposition  on  their  part  would  be  resultless,  and  yielded  to  the  de- 
mand of  Russia.  In  1872,  Gortchakoff  differed  from  all  the  Euro- 
pean Courts  by  refusing  to  acknowledge  the  Spanish  Government  of 
Marshal  Serrano,  and  the  views  expressed  by  him  on  the  probable 
short-livedness  of  that  Government  were  soon  proved  to  be  correct 
by  the  course  of  events.  More  recently  he  was  reported  to  have 
said  that  he  did  not  mean  to  be  extinguished  like  a  light.  He  has 
risked  the  boldest  step  of  his  long  diplomatic  career,  and  while  the 


504 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


opinions  of  the  civilized  world  on  the  justness  of  this  step  widely 
differ,  the  consummate  skill  with  which  it  has  been  taken  and  car- 
ried through,  has  elicited  admiration  on  all  sides.  The  very  numer- 
ous notes  and  circulars  which  have  been  issued  by  Prince  Gortcha- 
koff  during  his  long  diplomatic  career  are  counted  among  ths  most 
remarkable  productions  of  modern  diplomacy.  One  of  the  most 
notable  documents,  in  a  literary  point  of  view,  is  a  letter  addressed 
in  1876  to  Count  Shuvaloff,  in  which  he  ironically  criticised  the 
"  political  mythology"  which  still  tries  to  palm  off  the  "  old  woman's 
story  "  (vieillerie)  of  the  testament  of  Peter  the  Great  for  authentic 
history. 

By  far  the  ablest  among  the  diplomatic  agents  of  Russia  at  foreign 
Courts  is  General  Nicholas  Paulovitch  Ignatieff,  the  Russian  Am- 
bassador at  Constantinople  from  1864  to  the  beginning  of  the  Eastern 
war.  He  not  only  outshone  in  Constantinople  all  the  Ambassadors 
of  other  powers,  but  he  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  great  diplomatists 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  public  opinion  has  long  designated 
him  as  the  only  Russian  statesman  who  will  be  able  to  fill  the  place 
of  the  aged  Gortchakoff  when  it  shall  become  vacant.  Ignatieff  was 
born  in  1832,  and  is  descended  from  a  family  which  belongs  to  the 
numerous  lower  nobility  of  Russia,  and  which  has  given  to  the  State 
a  number  of  high  dignitaries.  He  was  educated  for  the  army  at  one 
of  the  military  academies,  and  became  a  Colonel  at  the  early  age  of 
twenty-four.  "While  connected  as  a  military  attache  with  the  Rus- 
sian embassies  in  London  and  Paris,  he  greatly  distinguished  himself 
at  the  conclusion  of  peace  between  Russia  and  the  Western  Powers. 
In  recognition  of  these  services,  his  Government  appointed  him  in 
1858  Major-General.  The  signal  success  with  which  his  first  diplo- 
matic activity  had  met,  induced  him  to  devote  himself  wholly  to  this 
career.  He  conceived  the  plan  of  enlarging  the  territory  and  con- 
solidating the  power  of  Russia  in  Asia,  while  in  European  questions 
the  programme  of  Gortchakoff  to  recover  gradually  and  to  wait  was 
consistently  carried  out.  The  wonderful  increase  of  the  Russian 
dominions  in  Asia  during  the  last  twenty-five  years  is  chiefly  the 
work  of  Ignatieff.  In  1858  a  treaty  was  concluded  between  Russia 
and  China,  by  which  the  Amoor  country,  a  territory  as  large  as  Italy, 
and  abounding  in  rich  harbors,  was  ceded  to  Russia.  At  first  the 
Governor  of  Eastern  Siberia  was  credited  with  this  remarkable  feat 
of  Russian  strategy  which  surprised  all  Europe,  but  subsequently  it 
became  known  that  Ignatieff  was  the  real  author  of  it.  After  con- 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST.  505 

eluding  favorable  commercial  treaties  with  Bokhara  and  Khiva,  Ig- 
natieff was,  in  1859,  appointed  Russian  Ambassador  in  Peking,  where 
during  the  four  years  of  his  stay  he  achieved  wonders  of  diplomatic 
success.  He  inspired  the  Chinese  with  the  belief  that  in  Russia  they 
would  find  a  friend  against  England  and  France,  and  while  the  two 
latter  powers  extorted,  by  a  bloody  and  expensive  war,  some  com- 
mercial advantages,  Ignatieff  obtained  the  cession  of  a  large  territory 
of  the  extent  of  France,  and  the  right  of  free  trade  along  the  entire 
frontier.  The  Chinese  ambassadorship  was,  however,  regarded  by 
him  as  a  stepping-stone  for  the  great  mission  of  his  life,  and  to  that 
end  he  acquired  so  perfect  a  knowledge  of  the  Turkish  language 
that  subsequently  at  Constantinople  he  was  the  only  one  among  the 
foreign  ambassadors  who  could  treat  with  the  Sultan  without  any 
interpreter.  During  the  Polish  insurrection  he  was,  for  a  short  time, 
recalled  to  assist  Prince  Gortchakoff  with  his  advice,  being  appointed 
at  the  same  time  Adjutant-General  of  the  Emperor,  and  Director  of 
the  Asiatic  Department  in  St.  Petersburg.  On  July  26,  1864,  Ig- 
natieff  was  appointed  Extraordinary  Ambassador  and  Minister  Pleni- 
potentiary at  Constantinople.  His  labors  in  this  position  fill  some 
of  the  most  interesting  pages  of  the  history  of  the  last  decade.  He 
knew  how  to  make  Russia  dreaded  by  all  Turkish  statesmen,  some 
of  whom  even  became  his  pliant  tools.  By  showing  an  outspoken 
sympathy  with  the  Pan-Slavist  movement,  he  gradually  accustomed 
the  Slavic  Christians  of  Turkey,  the  Turks,  and  the  whole  of  Europe, 
to  regard  Russia  in  the  light  of  a  natural  protector  of  the  Slavs  of 
Turkey.  When  he  entered  upon  his  office  in  Constantinople,  Turkey 
appeared  to  be  gaining  slowly,  but  steadily,  in  strength.  When  the 
war  was  declared  in  1877,  it  was  said,  with  much  truth,  that  by  the 
machinations  of  Ignatieff  the  Turkish  Empire  had  been  undermined. 
He  is  described  as  being  about  the  middle  height,  thin  in  person, 
with  the  strongly-marked  Slavonic  type  of  thick  lips,  broad  face, 
long,  thin  mustache,  and  small,  piercing  gray  eyes,  through  which, 
at  times,  passes  a  glare  of  ferocity.  His  wife  takes  a  very  active 
part  in  her  husband's  affairs,  and  it  is  said  that  not  only  no  dispatches 
ever  left  Constantinople  for  St.  Petersburg  without  first  having 
been  submitted  to  her  approval,  but  that  she  has  been  the  initiator 
of  many  of  the  General's  most  successful  political  inspirations. 

Next  to  Gortchakoff  and  Ignatieff,  Count  Peter  Andreyevitch 
Shuvaloff  is  regarded  as  the  most  noted  Russian  diplomatist.  He 
is  the  scion  of  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  celebrated  families  of  Rus- 


5o6  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

sian  nobility,  and  was  born  in  1828  at  St.  Petersburg,  where  his 
father  was  administrator  of  the  Imperial  palaces.  Like  Ignatieff, 
he  received  a  military  education,  and  was  rapidly  promoted  to  the 
highest  rank,  though,  like  Ignatieff,  he  never  took  an  active  part  in 
any  Russian  campaign.  In  his  early  life  he  had  little  practical 
experience  in  diplomacy,  as  he  was  only  for  some  time  connected  as 
military  attache*  to  the  Russian  Embassy  in  Paris.  In  1865,  he  was 
appointed  Governor-General  of  the  Baltic  provinces.  One  year 
later,  a  plot  against  the  life  of  the  Czar,  which  the  chief  of  the  secret 
.police  was  unable  to  discover,  led  to  the  elevation  of  Count  Shu- 
valoff  to  this  office,  for  which,  on  a  former  occasion,  he  had  shown 
a  special  aptitude.  He  had  scarcely  been  twenty-four  hours  in 
office,  when  he  had  fully  cleared  np  the  mystery  of  the  plot,  and 
found  out  that  the  perpetrator  of  the  attempt  was  not,  as  had  at 
first  been  believed,  a  Pole,  but  an  adherent  of  the  sect  of  Russian 
socialists  which  is  known  by  the  name  of  Nihilists.  For  eight 
years  he  remained  at  the  head  of  this  very  influential,  but  also  very 
burdensome  office,  and  so  great  was  the  power  wielded  by  him  that 
the  people  gave  him  the  nickname  of  Peter  IY.  When,  finally, 
regard  for  his  health  compelled  him,  in  1873,  to  resign,  he  was 
intrusted  with  an  extraordinary  diplomatic  mission  to  the  English 
Court.  He  was  instructed  to  calm  the  excitement  of  the  English 
over  the  advance  of  the  Russians  in  Central  Asia.  He  was  sup- 
posed to  be  specially  fitted  for  this  mission,  as,  in  direct  opposition 
to  Ignatieff,  he  was  regarded  as  a  decided  adherent  of  a  peace 
policy  and  of  the  development  of  the  resources  of  the  Empire,  and 
as  unfavorable  to  the  acquisition  of  any  new  territories.  He  had 
never  manifested  any  sympathy  with  the  Pan-Slavists,  but  was 
looked  upon  as  their  opponent.  By  promising,  in  the  name  of  Rus- 
sia, that  Russian  troops  would  not  advance  beyond  the  Oxus,  and 
that  Afghanistan  would  be  respected  as  inviolable  territory,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  re-establishing  friendly  relations  between  Russia  and 
England.  In  order  to  strengthen  the  good  understanding  between 
the  two  Courts,  he  brought  about  a  marriage  between  Maria,  the 
only  daughter  of  the  Russian  Emperor,  and  the  second  son  of  Queen 
Yictoria,  Alfred,  Duke  of  Edinburgh,  and  heir-apparent  to  the  Ger- 
man Duchy  of  Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.  The  Czar  rewarded  these  serv- 
ices by  appointing  Shuvaloff,  in  October,  1874,  as  Envoy  at  the 
British  Court,  in  the  place  of  the  aged  Brunnow,  who  retired. 
Since  the  beginning  of  the  present  complications  in  the  East,  he  has 


BISMARCK. 


DISRAELI. 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST. 


509 


been  less  successful.  Diplomatic  marriages  have  generally  proved 
to  have  little  or  no  influence  on  the  policy  of  the  great  European 
Court,  and  the  one  between  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh  and  the  Rus- 
sian Grand  Duchess  proved  no  exception.  The  Tory  Cabinet  openly 
took  sides  with  the  Turks,  and  all  that  Shuvaloff  could  hope  to 
accomplish  was  to  prevent  English  sympathy  with  Turkey  from 
drifting  into  an  open  war  with  Russia.  Like  few  Russian  states- 
men, Count  Shuvaloff  enjoys  the  special  confidence  of  the  Czar,  a 
signal  proof  of  which  was  given  to  him  when  he  was  instructed 
to  solve  the  mesalliance  between  the  Grand  Duke  Alexis  and  Miss 
Shukoosky. 

Prince  Carl  Otto  Yon  Bismarck-Schoenhausen,  the  Chancellor  of 
the  German  Empire,  has  won  the  reputation  of  being  the  ablest  of 
living  statesmen.  His  astuteness  and  obstinacy,  complementing  the 
patriotic  ambition  of  his  master,  the  Emperor  "William,  have  con- 
tributed much  to  the  success  which  has  attended  the  scheme  for 
uniting  and  establishing  the  power  of  the  German  Empire.  He  has 
represented  his  nation  in  the  principal  negotiations  which  have 
taken  place  in  relation  to  the  war,  with  the  same  skill  and  ability 
which  he  has  exhibited  in  other  fields  of  political  and  diplomatic 
activity.  His  movements  and  utterances  have  been  anxiously 
watched  by  all  the  other  parties  interested  in  the  struggle,  both 
because  they  were  those  of  the  one  statesman  who  thoroughly 
understood  himself  and  his  policy,  and  because  they  were  supposed 
to  indicate  the  designs  of  that  power  which  could  at  any  time  turn 
the  balance  of  the  scale. 

Count  Julius  Andrassy,  Chancellor  of  the  Austrian  Empire,  is  a 
Hungarian,  the  son  of  the  distinguished  scientific  and  social  econo- 
mist, Count  Charles  Andrassy.  He  entered  public  life  as  a  member 
of  the  Diet  from  his  native  town  in  1847;  gave  all  his  influence  to 
the  Hungarian  revolution  in  1848 ;  was  an  agent  for  the  revolution- 
ists to  the  Porte  in  1849 ;  and  was  in  exile  in  France  and  England 
after  the  defeat  of  the  revolution  until  he  was  enabled,  by  the 
amnesty  of  1857,  to  return  to  his  native  country.  He  was  elected 
to  the  Hungarian  Diet  in  1860 ;  on  the  reorganization  of  the  Aus- 
trian Empire,  in  1867,  he  was  appointed  Prime  Minister  of  Hun- 
gary, and  was  unanimously  elected  from  Pesth  to  the  Hungarian 
Chamber  of  Representatives  in  1869.  He  succeeded  Count  Yon 
Beust — the  ablest  Minister  Austria  has  had  since  Metternich — as 

Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  in  1871.     He  has  had   a  prominent 
27 


510  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST, 

share  in  all  the  negotiations  which  have  taken  place  respecting 
Eastern  afl'airs,  and  has  had  his  name  inseparably  associated  with 
them  through  the  authorship  of  the  famous  "Andrassy  Note"  of 
1875,  which  first  combined,  in  a  single  paper,  a  formal  statement 
of  the  grievances  of  the  Christian  populations  of  European  Turkey, 
with  the  united  demand  of  the  powers  that  effectual  measures  be 
taken  to  redress  them.  His  position  during  1877  was  one  of  great 
delicacy,  but  he  conducted  himself  with  much  skill  under  the  pres- 
sure of  discordant  counsels,  preserved  the  neutrality  of  the  Empire, 
maintained  its  honor,  and  escaped  reproach. 

Earl  Beaconsfield,  the  Premier  of  the  British  Cabinet,  was  born 
Benjamin  Disraeli  in  1805.  He  acquired  distinction  as  an  author  at 
an  early  age.  He  was  first  elected  to  the  House  of  Commons  in 
1841 ;  was  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  under  three  administra- 
tions of  the  late  Lord  Derby,  and  was  Premier  during  1868.  He 
was  again  appointed  Premier  on  the  final  resignation  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone in  1874,  and  has  continued  in  that  position  to  the  present  time. 
His  wife  was  made  Viscountess  of  Beaconsfield  in  1868,  and  he 
himself  was  made  Earl  Beaconsfield  in  1876.  His  course  in  the  dis- 
cussions of  the  Eastern  Question  has  been  signalized  by  a  strong 
partisanship  for  the  Turks,  and  has  invoked  the  bitter  criticisms  of 
the  Liberal  party.  The  fact  that  he  is  of  Jewish  origin,  has  been 
used  by  the  more  extreme  Liberal  partisans  as  the  basis  of  insinua- 
tions that  his  policy  has  been  governed  by  a  stronger  regard  for  the 
welfare  of  the  Jews  than  of  the  Christians. 

Earl  Derby,  British  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs,  was 
born  in  1826,  and  was  first  elected  to  the  House  of  Commons  in 
1848,  shortly  after  his  graduation  from  Trinity  College,  Cambridge. 
He  had  an  honorable  career  in  the  House  of  Commons  and  in  several 
public  offices,  in  which  he  was  known  as  Mr.  Henry  Stanley,  till  he 
succeeded  to  the  Earldom  of  Derby  in  1869.  In  1874,  Mr.  Disraeli 
made  him  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs.  In  this  capacity, 
he  has  had  charge  of  the  diplomatic  correspondence  writh  foreign 
Governments,  and  his  name  has  been  frequently  mentioned  and  ap- 
pealed to  in  the  discussion  of  British  interests.  He  has  steadfastly 
upheld  the  attitude  of  neutrality  which  was  assumed  by  his  Govern- 
ment at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  has  been  regarded  as  a  mod- 
erate, but  not  positive  friend  of  Turkey.  He  has  headed  the  party 
in  the  Cabinet  which  has  opposed  and  counteracted  the  tendency  of 
the  Premier  to  commit  the  country  to  some  embarrassing  position. 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST.  5 1 1 

As  is  generally  the  case  with  men  who  stand  between  two  opposite 
factions,  his  course  has  not  given  satisfaction  to  either  party.  He 
has  gained  great  literary  distinction  by  his  most  successful  translation 
of  Homer. 

The  Right  Honorable  Austin  Henry  Layard,  British  Minister  to 
the  Sublime  Porte,  was  born  in  1817.  Yielding  to  scholarly  tastes, 
he  started  on  an  extensive  course  of  travels  in  1839,  embracing, 
among  other  countries,  a  large  part  of  the  Turkish  Empire,  and 
studied  the  Arabic  and  Persian  languages.  He  gained  much  distinc- 
tion by  his  excavations  and  discoveries  among  the  ruins  of  Nineveh, 
which  were  begun  in  1845,  and  by  his  efforts  to  introduce  the  results 
of  Assyrian  studies  to  the  public.  He  has  filled  various  diplomatic 
stations  connected  with  Eastern  politics,  and  as  a  member  of  Parlia- 
ment has  given  much  attention  to  questions  of  a  similar  character. 
He  was  a  close  observer  on  the  field  of  the  Crimean  war,  and  after- 
ward spent  some  time  in  India  during  the  mutiny  of  1857-'58, 
endeavoring  to  ascertain  its  cause.  He  was  a  member  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's Cabinet  for  about  a  year,  after  which  he  was  appointed  Min- 
ister to  Spain  in  1869.  He  succeeded  Sir  Henry  Elliot  as  Ambas- 
sador to  the  Sublime  Porte  at  the  beginning  of  1877.  His 
correspondence  with  his  Government  shows  him  to  be  strongly 
Turkish  in  his  sympathies. 

Lord  Augustus  Loftus,  British  Minister  at  St.  Petersburg,  was 
born  in  1817,  and  has  been  employed  in  the  diplomatic  service  .of 
his  Government  since  1837.  He  was  appointed  to  the  Court  of  St. 
Petersburg  in  1871. 

Sir  Henry  Elliot,  late  British  Ambassador  to  the  Sublime  Porte, 
was  born  in  1817,  and  has  been  engaged  in  the  service  of  the 
Foreign  Office  since  1840.  He  was  appointed  Ambassador  to 
Turkey  in  1867,  and  retired  from  that  office  soon  after  the  Confer- 
ence of  December,  1876. 

The  greatest  among  the  living  statesmen  of  Turkey  is  undoubt- 
edly Midhat  Pasha,  the  father  of  the  new  Turkish  Constitution. 
He  was  born  in  1822,  at  Constantinople,  where  his  father  was  a 
kadi.  His  employment  in  the  public  service  began  at  the  early  age 
of  twelve  ;  and  when  only  nineteen  years  old  he  accompanied  Faik 
Effendi  to  Syria  as  his  secretary.  After  occupying,  in  succession,  a 
number  of  different  positions,  he  was  sent  during  the  Crimean  war 
to  put  down  brigandage  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Rumania,  an  errand 
which  he  accomplished  with  complete  success.  A  like  success  at- 


512  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

tended  him  in  1857,  when  he  was  sent  to  pacify  Bulgaria,  and  to 
inquire  into  the  conduct  of  the  ex-governors  of  Rustchuk  and  Widin. 
He  afterward  obtained  a  short  leave  of  absence,  during  which  he 
visited  London,  Paris,  and  the  other  capitals  of  Europe,  and  made 
himself  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  institutions  and  civilization  of 
some  of  the  leading  European  States.  In  1860  he  was  made  a 
Pasha,  with  the  rank  of  a  Yizier,  being  named  Governor  of  Nissa, 
to  which  were  subsequently  added  the  districts  of  Uskub  and  Pris- 
rend.  In  1865  he  was  appointed  Governor-General  of  the  eyalet 
of  the  Danube  (Bulgaria),  and  in  1869  Governor-General  of  the 
eyalet  of  Bagdad.  He  subsequently  became  a  member  and  Presi- 
dent of  the  Council  of  Justice,  and  was  for  a  short  time  Grand 
Yizier.  On  his  resumption  of  the  Presidency  of  the  Council,  he 
brought  about  the  dethronement  of  Abdul  Aziz,  and  shortly  after- 
ward escaped  from  the  assassin  of  Hussein  Avni  Pasha.  Midhat 
Pasha  remained  President  of  the  Council  of  State  during  the  reign 
of  Murad  Y.,  and  retained  this  position  after  the  fall  of  Murad, 
during  the  first  months  of  the  reign  of  the  present  Sultan,  Abdul 
Hamid.  On  June  1,  1876,  Midhat  published  the  draft  of  a  Consti- 
tution which  he  proposed  to  introduce  as  the  fundamental  law  of  the 
Empire.  This  document  produced  a  great  sensation  throughout 
Europe,  and  Midhat  prides  himself  upon  it  as  the  great  achieve- 
ment of  his  eventful  life.  He  had  been  known  in  Constantinople 
for  five  or  six  years  as  the  advocate  of  a  constitutional  form  of  gov- 
ernment, and  his  position  on  this  subject  had  been  several  times  the 
cause  of  his  fall.  When  finally  the  approval  of  the  plan  by  Abdul 
Hamid  had  been  secured,  the  promulgation  itself  was  postponed  by 
the  Servian  war.  After  Midhat  Pasha,  on  Dec.  21, 1876,  had  again 
become  Grand  Yizier,  he  hastened  to  promulgate  the  Constitution 
on  Dec.  23d,  as  an  offset  against  the  demands  of  the  Constantinople 
Conference,  which  he  was  unwilling  to  accept.  The  character  of 
Midhat  was  a  guarantee  to  his  own  countrymen  and  to  the  civilized 
world,  that  the  Constitution  was  not  intended  by  him  as  a  blind  for 
misleading  the  European  statesmen,  who  were  unanimous  in  de- 
manding a  reform  of  the  Turkish  administration,  but  as  the  real 
beginning  of  a  new  era  in  Turkish  history.  He  began  to  carry  out 
its  principles  with  unflinching  energy.  His  orders  had  a  military 
ring.  They  never  contained  the  time-honored  phrase,  "And  may 
God's  grace  incline  your  heart  to  obey  this  order,'1  but  by  sharp, 
clear  commands  he  endeavored  to  convince  the  officials  that  he  was 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST. 


513 


in  earnest  in  demanding  prompt  obedience.  A  clerk  in  the  Porte 
who  did  not  know  how  to  write,  and  who  had  obtained  a  $2,000 
clerkship  for  presenting  a  pretty  Circassian  slave  to  a  former  minis- 
ter, was  summarily  dismissed.  Midhat  showed  the  same  firmness 
in  his  relations  to  the  Sultan.  Abdul  Hamid  wished  to  overdraw 
his  allowance,  and  the  Minister  of  Finance,  Galib  Pasha,  hesitated, 
but  Midhat  resolutely  declared  that  the  Sultan  must  observe  the 
new  laws  and  keep  his  finances  within  the  prescribed  limits,  and 
when  Galib  Pasha,  nevertheless,  yielded  to  repeated  demands,  and 
sent  the  Sultan  several  millions  of  dollars,  he  was  immediately  re- 
moved from  his  office  by  Midhat.  This  firmness  soon  led  to  the  fall 
of  the  Grand  Yizier.  The  Sultan,  who,  like  so  many  of  his  prede- 
cessors, showed  a  greater  concern  about  his  private  finances  than 
about  the  dangerous  crisis  of  the  Empire,  listened  to  the  insinua- 
tions of  his  brother-in-law,  Mahmoud  Damad  Pasha,  who  hated 
Midhat  from  simple  jealousy,  and  succeeded  in  creating  a  jealousy 
toward  him  in  the  mind  of  the  Sultan.  On  February  5th  the  great 
statesman  was  summoned  into  the  presence  of  the  Sultan  to  be  de- 
posed. The  circumstances  attending  the  fall  of  Midhat  are  a  curious 
illustration  of  the  rottenness  of  Turkish  administration.  A  steamer 
was  in  waiting  with  steam  up,  and  Midhat  Pasha  had  hardly  arrived 
at  the  palace  when  soldiers  appeared,  and  he  was  rather  ostenta- 
tiously arrested  and  sent  out  to  the  steamer  without  being  allowed 
to  go  to  his  house  again.  Even  the  money  necessary  to  defray  his 
expenses  on  landing  in  Italy  was  given  to  him  at  the  palace,  because 
he  insisted  on  returning  to  his  house  for  a  little  pocket-money.  Be- 
fore it  was  known  among  the  people  that  Midhat  Pasha  had  fallen, 
the  steamer  which  took  him  to  Brindisi  was  already  out  at  sea.  In 
England,  where  Midhat  took  up  his  residence,  he  received  marked 
proofs  of  esteem.  He  observed  great  reserve  in  his  remarks  on  the 
condition  of  Turkey,  but  expressed  his  firm  conviction  that  already 
a  national  sentiment  was  showing  itself  in  which  Christians  and 
Jews,  as  well  as  Mohammedans,  took  part.  The  greatness  of  the 
loss  which  Turkey  suffered  by  his  exile  has  been  forcibly  demon- 
strated by  the  disgraceful  inefficiency  of  the  Turkish  Government 
during  the  war.  All  classes  of  the  population  became  more  and 
more  impatient  in  the  demand  for  his  return,  and  no  doubt  was  enter- 
tained that  the  Sultan  would  find  himself  compelled  by  the  pressure 
of  the  people  to  recall  the  exiled  statesman,  who  was  now  regarded 
as  the  only  man  who  could  save  the  country. 


5 14  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Midhat  Pasha  is  the  chief  representative  of  the  so-called  Young 
Turkish  party,  which,  while  anxious  to  preserve  the  integrity  of  the 
Ottoman  Empire,  desires  to  regenerate  it  by  introducing  the  insti- 
tutions of  Western  Europe.  While  Grand  Vizier,  he  earnestly  en- 
joined upon  the  governments  of  the  provinces  to  promote  a  good 
understanding  between  the  different  religions  and  races,  and  was 
indefatigable  in  encouraging  every  germ  of  progress,  whether  among 
Mohammedans  or  among  Christians.  For  counteracting  and  thwart- 
ing the  machinations  of  Ignatieff,  he  may  be  said  to  have  done  more 
than  all  the  other  Turkish  statesmen  together.  Among  the  many 
examples  which  are  related  of  the  energy  he  displayed  in  this  respect, 
an  incident  in  his  administration  of  Bulgaria  is  of  special  interest. 
Having  carefully  watched  the  secret  movements  of  the  Pan-Slavists 
in  Bulgaria,  he  had  several  of  the  chief  agitators,  whom  he  thought 
to  be  Russian  emissaries,  arrested.  Ignatieff  at  once  interceded  in 
behalf  of  the  prisoners,  and  the  timid  Grand  Vizier  of  that  time, 
Ali  Pasha,  instructed  Midhat  by  telegraph  not  to  proceed  any 
further  against  them,  but  to  send  a  full  report  of  their  case  to  Con- 
stantinople. Midhat  laconically  replied  by  telegraph,  "  To-day,  two 
culprits  convicted,  sentenced,  and  executed.  Report  will  be  sent." 
The  threatening  remonstrances  of  Ignatieff  induced  the  Grand 
Vizier  to  send  a  second  more  urgent  telegram,  to  which  Midhat, 
with  undisturbed  laconism,  replied :  "  Two  other  culprits  sentenced 
and  executed.  Report  follows  by  mail."  Frightened  at  the  rage 
of  Ignatieff,  Ali  Pasha  telegraphed  to  Midhat,  "  I  forbid  you  to 
take  any  other  step,  upon  penalty  of  deposition  and  severe  punish- 
ment. I  expect  telegraphic  report."  To  which  Midhat  replied, 
"  Report  sent  by  courier  ;  the  explanation  will  be  found  satisfactory. 
Quiet  has  been  restored.  The  four  last  culprits  will  be  executed 
immediately."  During  its  whole  history,  the  Turkish  Empire  has 
had  few,  if  any,  statesmen  so  enlightened  and  so  energetic  as  Midhat 
Pasha  ;  but  the  number  of  his  intelligent  followers  among  the  Young 
Turks  has  been  small.  Midhat  Pasha  converses  fluently  in  French, 
but  does  not  speak  English  at  all.  He  is  of  middle  height ;  his  short 
beard  and  whiskers  are  quite  gray,  although  he  is  only  fifty-five  years 
of  age.  He  dresses  in  the  European  style,  except  that  he  wears  a 
red  fez.  He  impresses  those  with  whom  he  converses  as  an  eager 
and  active  man,  full  of  good  humor,  but  as  a  man  also  of  the  most 
determined  resolution. 

Edhem  Pasha,  who,  in  February,  1877,  succeeded  Midhat  Pasha 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST.  515 

as  Grand  Vizier,  is  less  known  than  his  predecessor.  He  was  born 
in  1823  at  Ohio,  of  Circassian  parents.  While  still  a  boy  he  was 
sold  as  a  slave  to  the  well-known  Turkish  statesman,  Khosrev 
Pasha,  in  whose  house  at  Constantinople  he  for  some  time  per- 
formed servile  duties.  His  master,  who  soon  perceived  the  extra- 
ordinary ability  of  his  young  slave,  not  only  gave  him  his  liberty, 
but  sent  him,  together  with  four  other  Circassian  boys,  to  be  edu- 
cated in  Paris.  Here  he  remained  at  school  from  1832  to  1835, 
and  then  at  the  request  of  his  patron,  studied  mining  for  four  years, 
during  which  period  he  traveled  in  France,  Germany,  and  Switzer- 
land. He  returned  to  Constantinople  in  1839,  and  was  at  once 
appointed  a  captain  on  the  general  staff.  In  this  capacity  he  was 
chiefly  employed  in  topographical  work,  and  showed  such  skill  that 
he  was  rapidly  advanced  to  the  rank  of  colonel.  In  1849,  he  was 
appointed  aide-de-camp  to  the  Sultan,  and  after  being  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  general,  he  successively  became  chamberlain  of  the  Sul- 
tan's palace  and  member  of  the  Council  of  State.  After  the  dis- 
missal of  Ali  Pasha,  Edhem  became  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs, 
and  he  subsequently  represented  his  country  at  various  European 
Courts,  including  that  of  Berlin,  whence  he  was  called  at  the  close 
of  18T6  to  take  the  post  of  second  Plenipotentiary  of  the  Porte  at 
the  Conference.  While  chamberlain  of  the  Sultan's  palace,  Edhem 
instructed  Abdul  Medjid  in  the  French  language,  and  became  the 
tutor  of  the  Sultan's  children,  in  particular  of  Murad  and  Abdul 
Hamid.  Like  Midhat,  he  is  an  outspoken  opponent  of  the  Russian 
claims,  but  at  the  same  time  he  is  represented  as  a  stauncher  advo- 
cate of  all  the  Mohammedan  interests. 

Savfet  Pasha,  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  was  born  in  1816. 
He  belongs  to  the  oldest  school  of  Turkish  statesmen.  He  was  in- 
troduced into  the  diplomatic  career  by  Ali  Pasha,  and  became  the 
friend  of  Reshid  and  Fuad  Pashas.  He  entered  the  service  of  the 
Government  at  an  early  age,  and  was  at  first  employed  as  a  trans- 
lator. Subsequently  he  was  for  some  time  translator  of  the  Sultan 
Abdul  Medjid,  and  later  he  was  an  influential  member  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  the  Empire.  During  the  Crimean  war  he  was  commissary  of 
he  Danubian  principalities,  and  in  1858  he  presided  over  the  com- 
nission  which  had  to  revise  the  affairs  of  Moldavia  and  Wallachia. 
In  1865  and  1866,  Savfet  represented  the  Sublime  Porte  at  the* 
Court  of  the  Tuileries,  where  he  was  held  in  high  esteem.  After 
his  return  from  Paris,  he  became  in  succession  Minister  of  Com- 


516  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST, 

merce  and  Public  Works,  Minister  of  Justice,  Minister  of  Public 
Instruction,  and  several  times  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.  He 
specially  distinguished  himself  as  a  Minister  of  Public  Instruction 
by  founding  the  lyceum  of  Galata  Sera'i,  the  university  and  the 
archaeological  museum  of  Constantinople,  and  a  number  of  gratuitous 
schools  in  the  capital  as  well  as  in  the  provinces.  As  Turkish 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  he  had  to  preside  over  the  International 
Conference  of  Constantinople,  which  met  in  December,  1876,  for 
the  purpose  of  finding,  if  possible,  a  peaceable  solution  of  the  Eastern 
Question.  Upon  him  also  devolved  the  more  difficult  task  of  de- 
clining, in  the  name  of  the  Porte,  nearly  all  the  propositions 
emanating  from  the  Conference  as  irreconcilable  with  the  dignity 
of  the  country.  The  circular  by  which  Savfet  Pasha,  in  February, 
1877,  communicated  to  the  diplomatic  agents  of  Turkey  the  news 
of  the  proclamation  of  the  new  Turkish  Constitution,  produced  con- 
siderable sensation.  While  in  this  remarkable  document  he  laid, 
on  the  one  hand,  great  stress  upon  the  active  part  which  the  Sheik- 
ul-Islam  himself  had  taken  in  drawing  up  the  Constitution,  he 
called,  on  the  other  hand,  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  new  Constitu- 
tion was  based  upon  the  principles  of  freedom  and  equality  that  are 
found  in  the  most  liberal  constitutions  of  Europe,  and  that  it  could 
therefore  be  expected  to  satisfy  fully  the  wants  of  those  provinces 
which  had  of  late  attracted  the  special  attention  of  Europe. 

Aarifi  Pasha,  who  succeeded  Savfet  Pasha  as  Turkish  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs  in  July,  1877,  is  a  fine  scholar,  being  acquainted 
with  the  French  and  German  languages,  and  is  considered  an  able 
statesman.  He  was  interpreter  to  the  late  Sultan  Abdul  Medjid ; 
was  appointed  Ambassador  to  Austria  in  1872 ;  was  recalled  in  1873  ; 
was  made  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  in  1874,  and  Minister  of 
Education  and  Justice  in  1876  ;  was  again  appointed  Ambassador  to 
Yienna  in  1877,  but  was  recalled  in  July  of  that  year  to  succeed 
Savfet  Pasha  as  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  but  was  himself  re- 
moved within  ten  days.  He  gained  a  literary  reputation  by  trans- 
lating Michaud's  "  History  of  the  Crusades." 

Server  Pasha,  one  of  the  negotiators  of  the  Treaty  of  Peace,  has 
had  considerable  experience  in  public  affairs,  and  especially  in  the 
Foreign  department,  of  which  he  was  Under-Secretary  of  State 
during  the  last  years  of  Ali  Pasha's  life.  Upon  the  latter's  death, 
Server  became  Foreign  Minister  in  Mahmoud  Nedim's  first  cabinet, 
and  subsequently  went  as  Ambassador  to  Paris.  In  the  last  days 


SAVFET    PASHA. 


A   TURKISH    SOLDIER    PRAYING    BY    THE    GRAVE    OF    A    COMRADE. 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST. 


519 


of  July,  1877,  lie  succeeded  Aarifi  Pasha  as  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  and  in  January,  1878,  was  sent  to  the  Russian  headquarters 
to  negotiate  the  Treaty  of  Peace. 

Hussein  Avni  Pasha,  who,  with  Midhat  Pasha,  took  a  leading 
part  in  the  dethronement  of  Abdul  Aziz  and  the  elevation  to  the 
throne  of  Murad  Y.,  was  born  in  1 819  in  the  sanjak  of  Sparta. 
He  was  graduated  from  the  military  school  in  Constantinople  in 
18i2,  distinguished  himself  in  the  Crimean  war,  and  was,  in  1856, 
the  Turkish  delegate  to  the  commission  which  was  appointed  to 
regulate  the  Persian  frontier.  Soon  after,  he  was  appointed  director 
of  the  military  school  of  Constantinople,  and  chief  of  the  general 
staff  of  the  army.  In  the  war  with  Montenegro  he  was  commander 
of  a  division,  and  after  the  insurrection  in  Candia  he  was  appointed 
to  the  chief  command  of  the  Turkish  troops  in  that  island.  He 
early  gained  the  entire  confidence  of  the  two  great  statesmen  who 
directed  the  affairs  of  the  Empire  during  the  first  years  of  the  reign 
of  Abdul  Aziz,  Fuad  Pasha  and  Ali  Pasha — especially  of  the 
former.  In  1869,  he  was  appointed  Minister  of  War,  which  posi- 
tion he  held  until  the  death  of  Ali  Pasha,  in  1871,  when  he  was 
removed  by  Mahmoud  Nedim  Pasha,  the  new  Grand  Vizier,  who 
even  sent  him  into  exile  on  a  charge  of  misappropriation  of  public 
moneys.  When  Midhat  Pasha  became  Grand  Vizier,  in  1872,  he 
was  permitted  to  return,  and,  under  Essad  Pasha,  he  became  Minis- 
ter of  the  Navy,  and  afterward  of  War.  In  1874,  he  reached  the 
goal  of  his  ambition,  the  Grand  Vizierate,  but  in  this  position  he 
was  unsuccessful,  and  when  he  was  dismissed,  in  1875,  the  Empire 
was  in  a  much  more  wretched  condition  than  when  he  entered  upon 
his  office.  The  position  of  a  Governor-General  of  Smyrna,  to 
which  he  was  appointed,  he  soon  resigned,  in  order  to  visit  France 
and  England.  In  July,  1875,  he  was  called  back  to  Constantinople, 
as  the  Grand  Vizier,  Essad  Pasha,  had  urged  upon  the  Sultan  the 
necessity  of  calling  the  ablest  statesman  of  the  Empire  into  the 
Ministry.  Soon  after  his  arrival,  in  August,  the  new  Ministry  was 
formed,  under  Mahmond  Nedim  Pasha.  Hussein  received  the  De- 
partment of  War,  while  his  enemy,  Midhat  Pasha,  became  Min- 
ister of  Justice.  In  consequence  of  an  irreconcilable  difference 
of  opinion  between  him  and  the  Grand  Vizier,  as  to  the  policy  to 
be  pursued,  he  was  removed  from  his  seat  in  the  Cabinet  in  Octo- 
ber, 1875,  and  appointed  Governor-General  of  Brussa.  The  over- 
throw of  the  administration  of  Mahmoud  Nedim  Pasha,  on  May  1 1th, 


520  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

and  the  appointment  of  Mehemed  Rushdi  as  Grand  Yizier,  led  to 
his  reappointment  as  Seraskier,  or  Minister  of  War.  In  order  to 
secure  his  reappointment,  he  found  it  necessary  to  ally  himself  with 
the  party  of  the  Young  Turkey,  though  he  had  never  sympathized 
with  them  before.  The  affiliation  with  this  party  also  compelled 
him,  after  becoming  Minister  of  War,  to  take  part  in  the  movement 
for  dethroning  Abdul  Aziz,  although  the  chief  leader  of  this  move- 
ment was  his  great  enemy,  Midhat  Pasha.  He  was  even  the  prin- 
cipal actor  in  the  proclamation  of  Murad  V.,  the  new  Sultan.  As 
lie  was  known  to  be  decidedly  opposed  to  Midhat's  plan  to  give 
to  Turkey  a  Constitution,  the  breach  between  the  two  statesmen 
would  undoubtedly  soon  have  widened;  but  only  a  few  weeks 
after  the  dethronement  of  Abdul  Aziz,  Hussein  was  assassinated  by 
Hassan  Bey,  the  adjutant  of  the  oldest  son  of  Abdul  Aziz. 

Redif  Pasha,  the  Turkish  Minister  of  War  in  1877,  was  long 
commander  of  the  Sixth  corps,  and  subsequently  became  chief  of 
the  Imperial  Guard  of  Constantinople.  He  distinguished  himself 
in  the  Syria  campaigns,  and  gained  the  reputation  of  being,  next  to 
Abdul  Kerim,  one  of  the  ablest  generals  of  the  Turkish  army. 
When  it  was  deemed  necessary  that  Abdul  Kerim,  who  had  been 
designated  to  be  the  successor  of  the  assassinated  Hussein  Avni 
Pasha  as  Minister  of  War,  should  go  to  the  front,  and  assume  the 
chief  command  of  the  European  army,  Redif  Pasha  was  selected  as 
his  successor  in  the  Cabinet. 

Mahmoud  Damad  Pasha,  Palace-Marshal,  and  a  brother-in-law  of 
the  Sultan,  is  best  known  as  the  person  who  brought  about  the  fall 
of  Midhat  Pasha.  This  he  did  by  creating  a  jealousy  in  the  mind 
of  the  Sultan,  to  whom  he  has  constant  access,  against  his  Minister. 
He  is  a  son  of  Fethi  Ahmed  Pasha,  who  was  a  brother-in-law  of 
the  Sultan  Abdul  Medjid,  and  director  of  the  Artillery  and  Fortifi- 
cation Bureau.  He  was  for  several  years  President  of  a  section  of 
the  State  Council,  and  was  in  1872  appointed  to  the  Ministry  of 
Commerce,  an  office  in  which  he  proved  so  incapable,  and  blun- 
dered so  much,  as  to  bring  down  all  the  foreign  ambassadors  against 
him,  and  caused  the  Russian  Embassy  to  declare  that  Russia  would 
not  regard  the  Turkish  trade  laws  so  long  as  the  administration 
of  them  was  in  his  hands.  He  was  removed  from  this  office,  but 
was  reappointed  to  it  in  18T5,  and  again  in  1876,  by  Sultan  Murad 
Y.  Sultan  Abdul  Hamid — whose  sister,  the  Princess  Jemile,  he 
married  in  1858 — appointed  him  to  the  same  office  in  the  artillery 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST.  521 

department  which  his  father  held.  His  peculiar  relationship  with 
the  Sultan,  combined  with  his  capacities  for  intrigue,  has  given  him 
a  position  of  great  influence  at  the  Court,  and  he  has  been  regarded 
as  the  real  director  of  the  affairs  of  the  Turkish  Empire,  so  far  as 
they  were  directed  from  the  capital,  during  18TT. 

The  President  of  the  first  Turkish  Chamber  of  Deputies,  Ahmed 
Vefik  Pasha,  is  regarded  as  the  greatest  Turkish  scholar  of  the 
present  time.  There  are  few  names  more  popularly  known  in  Con- 
stantinople than  that  of  the  "  Recluse  of  the  Hissar,"  as  he  has  been 
called,  and  there  is  no  official  man  in  Turkey  who  has  been  more 
often  and  longer  in  disgrace.  In  turns  Ambassador  in  Persia,  mem- 
ber of  Council  of  State,  Minister  of  Public  Instruction,  Ambassador 
in  Paris,  and  again  member  of  the  Council  of  State,  and  more  than 
once  candidate  for  the  office  of  Grand  Yizier,  he  has  always  ended 
by  going  back  to  his  Tali  in  Hissar,  to  dig  and  plant  in  his  garden 
on  the  hill-side,  and  to  indulge  in  his  taste  for  reading  and  study. 
His  friends  and  the  popular  voice  attribute  his  ill  success  to  his  in- 
tegrity. His  adversaries  complain  of  him  as  an  intractable,  quarrel- 
some man,  and  as  an  enthusiast,  sincere,  but  quite  impracticable. 
But  there  is  no  difference  between  friends  and  adversaries  in  recog- 
nizing the  purity  of  his  character  and  the  grasp  of  his  mind.  He 
has  always  been  known  as  an  uncompromising  adversary  of  foreign 
interference,  for  which  he  was  erroneously  set  down  as  a  fanatical 
"  Old  Turk."  Ahmed  Yefik  Pasha  speaks  and  writes  English  and 
French  with  facility,  has  considerable  acquaintance  with  the  classics, 
and  is  well  versed  in  many  branches  of  science.  His  high  principle 
and  unbending  character  have  gained  him  much  respect  among  his 
countrymen,  and  his  love  of  justice  has  passed  into  a  proverb.  Among 
his  writings  is  a  translation  into  Turkish  of  Moliere's  plays.  He  was 
also  among  the  representatives  of  Turkey  at  the  Orientalists  Con- 
gress at  St.  Petersburg. 

Ohannes  Tchamith  Effendi,  who,  in  February,  1877,  was  appointed 
Minister  of  Commerce  and  Agriculture,  belongs  to  one  of  the  most 
respected  of  the  Armeno-Catholic  families  of  Constantinople.  He  is 
considered  one  of  the  most  capable  and  industrious  of  the  public  func- 
tionaries of  the  Porte.  He  speaks  and  writes  French  with  remark- 
able facility,  has  some  reputation  as  a  historian  and  political  econo- 
mist, and  has  published  a  book  in  the  Turkish  language  on  logic. 

The  history  of  the  last  great  wars  in  Europe  has  called  the  atten- 
tion of  the  world  to  an  appreciation  of  the  importance  which  ingeni- 


522  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

'ous  plans  of  a  campaign  has  for  the  issue  of  the  war.  As  these  plans 
are  the  work  of  the  staff,  the  heavy  responsibility  of  the  chiefs  of 
the  staff  and  the  great  part  they  have  in  the  results  of  the  war,  comes 
to  be  better  understood.  The  chief  of  the  Russian  army  on  the 
Danube,  Arthur  Adamovitch  Nepokoitchitzky,  k  looked  upon  as  one 
of  the  most  gifted  Russian  generals  now  living,  and  sometimes  even 
been  designated  by  his  admirers  as  the  Russian  Moltke.  He  was  born 
on  Dec.  8,  1813,  and  is  the  son  of  a  marshal  of  the  nobility  in  the  Gov- 
ernment of  Minsk.  He  began  his  military  career  in  1832  as  officer 
in  a  body-guard  regiment.  The  first  campaigns  in  which  he  took 
part  were  those  against  the  people  of  the  Caucasus,  in  which  he 
greatly  distinguished  himself,  and  won  the  special  favor  of  the  Czar. 
When  the  Russians,  in  1849,  invaded  Hungary,  he  was  appointed 
General,  and  justified  the  great  expectations  which  were  entertained 
with  regard  to  him,  by  the  occupation  of  Kroiistadt  and  Hermann- 
stadt  and  the  great  victory  of  Temesvar,  which  was  followed  by  the 
entire  submission  of  the  Magyars.  During  the  war  between  the  Rus- 
sians and  the  Turks  in  1853,  and  in  the  following  years,  he  not  only 
sustained  his  military  reputation,  but  greatly  added  to  it  by  many 
brilliant  exploits.  His  name  is  honorably  connected  with  the  passage 
of  the  Pruth  by  the  Russian  troops,  with  the  advance  of  the  Russians 
against  the  Turkish  fortifications  on  the  Danube,  near  Braila,  with 
the  capture  of  the  town  of  Matchin,  and  with  the  siege  of  Silistria, 
when  Nepokoitchitzky,  while  reconnoitering  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  fortress,  repulsed  a  desperate  sortie  of  the  Turks.  Subsequently 
he  fought  in  the  Crimea  against  the  allied  armies  of  England,  France, 
and  Turkey.  In  1859  he  was  appointed  President  of  the  War  Codi- 
fication Committee,  and  in  1868  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
General  of  the  Infantry. 

Todleben,  General  Franz  Eduard,  Chief  of  the  Russian  Engineer 
Corps,  and  one  of  the  most  distinguished  engineers  in  the  world,  was 
born  in  1818,  at  Mitau,  and  entered  the  engineer  corps  in  1838. 
He  gained  the  distinction  which  he  deservedly  enjoys  by  the  plan- 
ning and  construction  of  the  fortifications  of  Sebastopol,  which,  he 
made  confessedly  one  of  the  strongest  fortresses  in  the  world.  The 
length  and  determination  of  the  resistance  which  the  Russians  were 
enabled  to  offer  from  this  position  to  the  assaults  and  siege  attacks 
of  the  allied  forces  engaged  against  them  in  the  Crimean  war,  were 
made  possible  by  the  sufficiency  and  excellence  of  the  works  which 
he  built.  Since  1860,  he  has  held  the  position  of  technical  aide  to 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST. 


523 


the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas.  His  principal  services  in  the  present 
war  were  rendered  in  connection  with  the  planning  and  execution 
of  the  siege  works  around  Plevna. 

Radetzky,  General  Feodor  Feodorovitch,  commander  of  the  main 
division  of  the  Russian  army  of  the  Danube,  was  born  in  July,  1820, 
at  Kazan,  of  a  family  who  are  distantly  related  to  the  Austrian 
Marshal  Radetzky.  Having  completed  his  studies  at  the  Engineers' 
and  General  Staff  Academies,  he  was  assigned  to  a  command  of  en- 
gineers at  Warsaw  in  1839,  and  afterward  in  Grusia.  The  greater 
part  of  his  military  life  has  been  spent  in  the  Caucasus,  where  he 
distinguished  himself  in  several  brilliant  actions  and  successful  cam- 
paigns. He  was  appointed  a  Major-General  in  1860,  and  a  Lieuten- 
ant-General in  1868.  In  1876  he  was  appointed  to  the  command 
of  the  Eighth  army  corps,  with  which  he  effected  the  crossing  of  the 
Danube  at  Simnitza,  in  June,  1877,  five  days  after  Zimmermann  had 
crossed  the  same  river  at  Braila,  and  participated  with  great  credit 
in  the  battles  of  the  Shipka  Pass. 

Zimmermann,  General  Apollo  Ernestovitch,  the  commander  of  the 
corps  of  the  Lower  Danube,  or  the  "  Dobrudja  Corps,"  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war,  is  of  German  descent,  and  was  born  in  Livonia  in 
1825.  He  first  entered  the  military  service  of  the  King  of  Wurtem- 
berg.  Having  finished  his  studies  at  the  Military  Academy,  he  was 
attached  to  the  Russian  General  Staff,  and  was  assigned  to  duty  in 
the  Governments  of  Archangel  and  Olonitz.  He  took  active  part  in 
the  Hungarian  campaign  of  1849,  and  served  in  the  Caucasus  from 
1851  to  1854,  where  he  was  promoted  to  be  a  Lieutenant-Colonel. 
In  the  Crimean  war,  he  had,  at  first,  the  command  of  one  of  the 
corps  which  were  operating  in  Asia,  was  called  to  the  Crimea  at  a 
later  period,  where  he  was  attached  to  the  garrison  of  Sebastopol  till 
that  post  was  captured,  and  was  wounded  during  the  bombardment. 
In  1860,  having  become  a  Colonel,  he  participated  in  the  campaign 
against  Khokand,  and  was  made  a  Major-General.  He  took  part  in 
the  suppression  of  the  Polish  insurrection  in  1862,  and  was  made  a 
Lieutenant-Gen eral  in  1868,  and  was  assigned  the  command  of  the 
corps  with  which  he  effected  the  crossing  of  the  Danube  at  Braila 
in  the  night  of  the  21st  and  22d  of  June,  it  being  the  first  division 
of  the  Russian  army  whicli  entered  the  European  territory  of 
Turkey. 

Krudener,  General  Baron  Nicholas  Paulovitch,  "  the  hero  of  Nic- 
opolis,"  as  he  was  called  early  in  the  war,  is  the  oldest  of  the  Russians 


524  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST, 

in  the  field.  He  was  bom  in  1811  in  Esthonia.  Having  studied  in 
the  School  of  Engineers  and  the  Imperial  Military  Academy,  he 
entered  the  General  Staff  in  1836.  He  was  made  a  Major-General 
in  1859,  and  as  commander  of  the  Yolhynian  Life  Guards,  he  took 
part  in  the  suppression  of  the  Polish  insurrection  of  1862.  He  was 
appointed  in  1876  to  the  command  of  the  corps  which  he  led  in  the 
war  of  1877.  Success  attended  him  at  the  beginning  of  the  war. 
His  capture  of  Nicopolis  on  the  15th  of  July,  with  6,000  men  and 
two  Pashas  as  prisoners,  was  a  brilliant  achievement,  and  brought 
him  praise ;  but  the  fame  he  thus  gained  was  dissipated  by  the  dis- 
aster which  he  suffered  at  the  second  battle  of  Plevna,  on  the  30th 
of  July,  when  he  was  driven  back  with  the  loss  of  7,000  men.  He 
afterward  excused  himself  for  his  failure  by  showing  that  he  had 
made  the  attack  under  the  express  orders  of  the  Commander-in- 
chief.  He  said  that  he  had  estimated  the  forces  of  Osman  Pasha  at 
50,000  men,  and  had  so  reported  it  to  headquarters,  but  was  told 
that  the  Turks  had  only  27,000  men,  and  ordered  to  go  on  and 
attack  the  position.  The  result  was  what  he  had  foreseen  and  tried 
to  avoid. 

Gourko,  General  Joseph  Yladimirovitch,  the  daring  Russian  cav- 
alry chief,  was  born  of  an  old  Russian  family  in  November,  1828. 
He  was  appointed  a  cornet  in  the  Life  Guard-Hussars  in  1846,  after- 
ward went  through  the  course  of  the  School  of  the  General  Staff, 
and  was  appointed  a  Captain  in  1852  in  a  regiment  with  which  he 
served  through  the  whole  Crimean  war.  He  was  promoted  in  suc- 
cession to  be  Captain  of  Horse,  Commander  of  the  Imperial  Squadron 
in  the  regiment,  of  the  Czar,  in  1860  Wing-Adjutant  of  the  Czar,  and 
in  1861  Colonel.  In  1862  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  com- 
mission on  the  emancipation  of  the  serfs,  a  cause  which  he  actively 
promoted.  He  was  advanced  to  the  rank  of  Lieutenant-General,  and 
made  commander  of  the  Second  division  of  the  cavalry-guard  in  1876. 
He  engaged  in  the  campaign  in  Bulgaria  in  advance  of  his  division, 
having  been  placed  at  the  head  of  an  "  advance-guard  corps,"  whose 
duty  it  was  to  press  forward  before  the  army,  without  regard  to  the 
operations  of  the  main  force,  as  far  and  as  fast  as  possible,  and  spread 
alarm  through  the  Turkish  population.  He  performed  this  duty 
with  great  energy.  On  the  27th  of  June  he  was  still  on  the  Danube ; 
ten  days  later  he  had  captured  Tirnova,  the  old  capital  of  Bulgaria, 
and  found  the  way  open  to  the  Balkans ;  on  the  14th  of  July  he  had, 
to  the  surprise  of  all  who  were  observing  the  movements  of  the  war, 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST.  525 

passed  the  Balkans,  accomplishing  in  one  week  what  former  Gener- 
als had  thought  themselves  entitled  to  credit  for  doing  in  two  years. 
He  continued  to  advance  into  the  heart  of  the  mountain  region,  with 
wonderful  moral  effect  upon  Europe  and  Turkey,  till  the  exigencies 
of  the  Russian  army  compelled  his  recall.  His  special  corps  was  dis- 
solved, and  he  returned  to  his  old  command  to  get  it  in  readiness  to 
take  part  in  the  ensuing  campaigns.  For  his  services  in  penetrating 
the  Balkans,  he  was  made  an  Adjutant-General.  Gen.  Gourko's  repu- 
tation increased  as  the  war  advanced,  and  when  it  closed,  it  was  con- 
sidered that  he  had  shown  himself  the  bravest  and  most  skillful  of 
all  the  Russian  generals. 

Skobeleff,  Michael  Demetrivitch,  although  an  officer  of  most  dis- 
tinguished service,  is  the  youngest  General,  not  only  in  the  Russian, 
but  also  of  all  the  European  armies,  having  been  born  in  1845,  and 
being  now  consequently  only  thirty-two  years  of  age.  He  became 
an  officer  in  the  Russian  army  in  1863,  and  ha»  performed  his  prin- 
cipal services  in  Central  Asia.  He  was  the  most  active  and  efficient 
leader  in  the  campaign  against  the  Khanate  of  Khokand,  which  re- 
sulted in  the  conquest  of  the  country  in  1875,  and  its  annexation  to 
the  Russian  Empire.  He  received  the  appointment  of  a  General  in 
recompense  for  services  in  this  campaign.  After  the  submission  of 
the  Khan  of  Khokand  had  been  secured,  he  led  the  expedition 
which,  in  the  summer  of  1876,  cleared  the  valley  of  Ferghana  of  the 
adherents  of  the  pretenders,  Abdurrahman  and  Pulad,  and  secured 
peace  to  the  whole  of  the  new  acquisition.  He  served  as  military 
Governor  and  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Province  of  Ferghana,  as 
the  late  Khanate  of  Khokand  was  called  after  its  annexation  to 
Russia,  till  March,  1877,  when  he  was  ordered  to  join  the  Grand 
Duke  Nicholas,  commander  of  the  Russian  troops  in  Europe.  His 
name  has  been  mentioned  repeatedly  since  the  entrance  of  the  Rus- 
sian army  into  Turkish  territory,  and  always  with  honor,  as  that  of 
a  daring,  brilliant,  and  generally  successful  officer.  At  Simnitza,  he 
led  a  reconnoitering  squad  of  ten  Cossacks  which  crossed  the 
Danube  to  reconnoiter  the  opposite  shore  on  the  evening  before  the 
general  crossing  by  the  main  force  was  to  take  place.  At  the  second 
battle  of  Plevna,  July  30th,  he  made  the  final  attack  on  the  Turkish 
position  to  cover  the  retreat  of  Prince  Shachovsky  after  the  day 
was  lost.  He  was  named  as  "  the  hero  of  the  day  "  in  the  Russian 
official  bulletins  of  the  battle  of  Lovatz,  September  3d,  which  was 
largely  through  his  services  the  first  success,  after  many  reverses, 


526  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

which  the  Russians  had  gained  for  more  than  six  weeks.  He  also 
acquitted  himself  with  credit  in  the  battles  at  Plevna,  September 
llth  and  12th,  the  loss  of  which  on  the  latter  day,  after  a  success  on 
the  former  day,  was  ascribed  by  English  correspondents  to  his  not 
having  been  properly  supported.  The  Russian  papers  find  fault 
with  General  Skobeleff  as  being  too  much  addicted  to  the  "  American 
method  "  of  fighting,  and  too  reckless  of  the  lives  of  his  men.  He 
is  described  as  "  a  tall,  handsome  man,  with  a  lithe,  slender,  active 
figure,  a  clear  blue  eye,  a  large,  prominent,  well-shaped  nose,  and  a 
face  young  enough  for  a  second-lieutenant."  At  the  end  of  the 
war,  General  Skobeleff  had  gained  universal  admiration  as  one  of 
the  most  gallant  of  the  Russian  generals. 

Shildner-Shuldner,  General  Jurij  Ivanovitch,  the  Russian  officer 
who  suffered  the  repulse  at  the  first  battle  of  Plevna,  was  born  in 
1816,  of  a  noble  family  of  the  Government  of  Vitebsk.  He  was 
trained  in  the  "  Nobles'  Regiment  "  of  that  day,  the  present  Constan- 
tine  Military  School,  and  was  afterward  appointed  instructor  in  the 
regulations  of  the  service  to  the  late  and  the  present  Czarevitch. 
After  serving  for  twenty  years  as  commander  of  the  battalion  of 
infantry  instruction,  he  was  appointed  in  1860  to  the  command  of  a 
regiment  in  Poland,  and  was  actively  engaged  in  the  suppression  of 
the  insurrection.  He  was  made  a  Major-General  and  chief  of  a 
military  district  in  Poland  in  1864,  and  a  Lieutenant-General  in  1873. 
In  the  present  war,  a  part  of  his  division,  which  was  attached  to 
General  Kriidener's  corps,  had  to  sustain  the  first  shock  of  Osman 
Pasha's  force  at  Plevna  on  the  20th  of  July.  It  was  driven  back 
with  the  loss  of  2,771  men,  or  one-third  of  its  strength,  and  the 
disaster  led  to  the  loss  of  the  day  and  the  failure  of  the  first  Rus- 
sian campaign  in  Bulgaria. 

Shachovsky,  Prince  Alexis  Ivanovitch,  the  commander  of  the 
Russian  left  wing  at  the  second  battle  of  Plevna,  was  born  in  1812, 
and  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  Rurik,  the  founder  and  first  sovereign 
of  the  Russian  nation.  He  entered  the  military  service  in  1837,  but 
did  not  become  an  officer  till  1842,  and  it  was  not  till  after  he  had 
served  for  twelve  years  in  the  Caucasus  that  he  became  a  Colonel. 
He  was  not  engaged  in  the  Crimean  war.  He  was  made  a  Major- 
General  in  the  suite  of  the  Czar  in  1860,  and  a  Lieutenant-General 
in  1868.  In  1876  he  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  llth 
army  corps.  His  corps  was  completely  cut  up  at  the  second  battle 
of  Plevna,  July  30th,  and  was  afterward  dissolved.  He  still 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST. 


527 


remained  nominally  a  corps  commander,  but  was  without  a  com- 
mand. 

General  Dragomiroff,  a  Russian  officer  who  was  wounded  in  the 
Shipka  Pass,  was  born  in  1830  in  the  Government  of  Tchernigov, 
and  entered  the  active  army  from  the  military  school  as  an  officer  in 
1849.  He  accompanied  the  Sardinian  army  as  a  Russian  military 
plenipotentiary  during  the  Italian  war  of  1849  till  the  battle  of  Sol- 
ferino.  He  afterward  served  as  Professor  of  Tactics  at  the 
Nicholas  Academy  from  1860  to  1869,  during  which  period  he  spent 
two  months  with  the  Prussian  army  during  the  Austro-Prussian  war 
of  1866  as  a  military  attache*,  and  embodied  the  results  of  his  ob- 
servations there  in  a  special  report  to  his  Government.  In  1868,  he 
was  made  a  Major-General  and  chief  of  staff  of  the  military  dis- 
trict of  Kiev,  in  1872  a  Major-General  of  the  suite  of  the  Czar,  and 
in  1873,  commander  of  the  14th  division. 

Imeretinski,  Prince  Alexander  Constantinovitch,  a  young  Russian 
General  of  promise,  is  of  an  Asiatic  princely  stock,  being  a  descend- 
ant of  the  kings  of  Imeretia,  the  ancient  Colchis.  His  father  bore 
the  title  of  Czarevitch  of  Imeretia.  He  was  born  in  1837,  and  re- 
ceived his  first  training  in  the  Page-corps.  When  eighteen  years 
old,  he  entered  the  military  service  as  an  ensign.  He  served  in  the 
Caucasus  from  1856  to  1859,  when  he  returned  to  Russia  and  com- 
pleted his  military  education.  He  joined  the  general  staff  as  a  Cap- 
tain in  1862 ;  took  part  in  the  suppression  of  the  Polish  insurrection, 
and  for  his  services  in  that  campaign  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
Colonel  and  Adjutant  in  the  Imperial  suite.  In  1869,  he  was 
made  Major-General  and  chief  of  staff  of  the  Warsaw  military  dis- 
trict. He  was  not  engaged  in  the  field  at  the  beginning  of  the 
campaign  of  1877,  but  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  a  division  of 
the  reinforcements  which  were  sent  down  to  the  army  of  the  Danube 
in  August.  He  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  associated  with  General 
Skobeleff  in  the  capture  of  Lovatz  on  the  4th  of  September,  and  to 
have  his  name  made  known  with  honor  in  connection  with  this 
event  through  all  Europe.  It  is  well-said  in  regard  to  his  service 
on  this  occasion,  that  it  is  no  great  achievement  to  defeat  7,000  of 
the  enemy  with  20,000  men ;  but  it  is  something  to  know  when  to* 
bring  the  20,000  against  the  7,000,  and  to  do  it  at  the  right  time.. 
Prince  Imeretinski  was  also  associated  with  General  Skobeleff  in  his* 
success  at  Plevna  on  the  llth,  and  his  defeat  at  the  same  place  on 

the  12th  of  September. 
28 


528  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

One  of  the  most  enthusiastic  Panslavists  among  the  Russian 
generals  is  Michel  Gregoryevitch  Tchernayeff,  to  whom  the  Gov- 
ernment of  Servia  in  1876  intrusted  the  chief  command  of  the 
Servian  army.  He  was  born  in  1828,  and  is  descended  from  a 
family  belonging  to  the  old  Russian  nobility.  After  finishing  his 
studies  in  the  military  academy  of  Mcolayev,  he  was  in  1853  at- 
tached to  the  corps  of  infantry  which  began  the  military  operations 
on  the  Danube.  From  that  time  Tchernayeff  took  an  active  part  in 
all  the  Russian  campaigns  on  the  Danube  near  Sebastopol,  in  the 
Caucasus,  and  in  Central  Asia.  His  advancement  in  the  army  was 
very  rapid,  and  in  1864:,  at  the  age  of  only  thirty,  he  attained  the 
rank  of  Major-General.  In  the  following  year  he  was  appointed 
Governor-General  of  the  province  of  Toorkistan,  which  had  been 
conquered  by  him  for  Russia.  On  June  20,  1876,  he  was  placed 
on  the  retired  list,  and  soon  after  he  offered  his  services  to  the 
Servian  Government,  which  intrusted  to  him  the  chief  command  of 
the  army. 

Loris-Melikoff,  General  Michael  Tarielovitch,  commander  of  the 
Russian  array  of  operations  in  Armenia,  is  an  Armenian  by  descent, 
the  son  of  a  Grusian  gentleman,  a  merchant  of  Tiflis,  where  he  was 
born  January  1,  1826.  He  received  his  military  education  at  St. 
Petersburg,  and  entered  the  army  in  1843.  Four  years  later  he  became 
adjutant  of  Prince  Yoronzoff,  military  governor  of  the  Caucasus.  He 
took  part  with  honor  in  the  campaign  against  the  Tchetchentzes  in 
1847 ;  he  was  engaged  as  a  Major  in  the  campaign  against  Shamyl  in 
1851,  and,  at  the  head  of  one  thousand  Cossacks,  inflicted  a  severe 
defeat  upon  that  chieftain.  He  distinguished  himself  during  the  Cri- 
mean war  in  the  campaigns  around  Kars,  and  was  appointed  governor 
of  that  fortress  after  its  capture  in  1855.  He  was  made  a  Lieutenant- 
General  in  1863,  and  a  General  of  Cavalry  in  1875.  He  speaks 
fluently  Turkish,  Persian,  Armenian,  and  Grusian.  A  few  months 
before  the  declaration  of  war,  he  entered  into  communications  with 
the  Kurds  and  Karapaches  in  order  to  engage  them  on  the  Russian 
side,  with  a  slight  degree  of  success.  He  spoke  with  them  in  their 
native  language,  and  showed  himself  quite  familiar  with  their 
usages  and  views.  In  order  to  show  his  confidence  in  them,  he 
took  a  number  of  their  chiefs  into  his  body-guard.  It  is  said  that 
these  wild  sons  of  the  country  never  abused  the  trust  he  reposed  in 
them. 

Tergukassoff,  General  Arsas  Artemyevitch,  commander  of  the 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST.  529 

"  Erivan  Corps ''  of  the  Russian  army  of  invasion  in  Armenia, 
was  born  in  1819,  the  son  of  an  Armenian  priest,  in  the  Govern- 
ment of  Tiiiis.  He  was  appointed  an  ensign  in  the  Engineer  corps 
in  1837,  and  has  served  continuously  since  1841  in  the  Caucasus. 
He  was  made  a  General  in  1865,  and  a  Lieutenant-General  and 
commander  of  a  division  of  infantry  in  1876.  He  has  so  far 
proved  himself  the  most  capable  of  the  Russian  commanders  in 
Asia. 

Dewell,  General  Feodor  Danilovitch,  commander  of  a  division  in 
the  army  of  the  Caucasus,  was  born  in  1818,  received  his  education  in 
the  higher  school  of  engineers  (now  the  Nicholas  Engineer-school), 
and  entered  the  service  in  the  cuirassiers  of  the  body-guard  of  the 
Czarevitch.  He  was  transferred  to  the  sapper-battalion  of  the  army 
of  the  Caucasus  in  1842,  and  has  since  that  time  served  continuously 
in  the  Caucasus.  He  distinguished  himself  frequently  in  the  wars 
against  the  mountaineers,  gained  a  wide  and  honorable  fame,  and 
made  himself  formidable  to  the  enemies  of  Russia  by  his  deeds  of 
heroic  bravery.  In  1856,  he  was  a  colonel  of  engineers  in  Kara, 
which  the  Russians  had  then  captured  from  the  Turks.  Afterward 
he  was  commander  of  the  regiment  of  infantry  which  had  the 
honor  of  capturing  the  Circassian  chieftain  Shamyl.  He  was  made 
a  Major-General  in  1865  and  a  Lieutenant-General  in  1876.  At  the 
opening  of  the  war  in  1877  he  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the 
column  of  the  army  of  invasion  which  had  to  march  from  Akhaltzikh 
to  Ardahan.  In  capturing  the  latter  city,  he  achieved  the  second 
notable  Russian  success  of  the  campaign. 

Heimann,  General  Basili  Alexandrovitch,  of  the  Russian  army  of 
the  Caucasus,  an  officer  who  distinguished  himself  in  the  capture  of 
Ardahan  in  May,  1877,  was  born  at  Grodno  in  1823.  He  is  of  Ger- 
man descent.  He  entered  the  Nizhni  Novgorod  regiment  as  a 
"Tounker''  in  1839,  and  was  transferred  in  1842  to  the  Army  of 
the  Caucasus,  with  which  he  has  ever  since  been  connected.  He 
became  an  officer  in  1844,  and  in  the  next  year  distinguished  him- 
self in  several  brilliant  engagements  with  the  hostile  Caucasian 
tribes,  in  one  of  which  he  was  wounded  and  narrowly  escaped  being 
taken  prisoner.  He  was  in  active  service  during  all  the  campaigns 
till  the  Caucasian  war  was  ended  by  the  surrender  of  Shamyl  in 
1859,  when  he  had  risen  to  be  a  Colonel.  In  1863  he  escorted 
Prince  Albert  of  Prussia  during  his  journey  through  the  Caucasus^ 
for  which  service  the  Prince  recommended  him  to  the  Czar,  and  he 


530  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

received  the  appointment  of  Major-General.  In  1872  he  was  ap- 
pointed Lieutenant-General  and  commander  of  a  division,  in  which 
capacity  he  served  under  General  Loris-Melikoff  in  the  campaign  of 
1877  in  Armenia.  For  his  services  at  Ardahan,  he  received  the 
gift  of  an  elegant  golden  sword  adorned  with  brilliants.  He  was 
less  fortunate  at  Zewin,  where  his  division,  supported  by  the  forces 
brought  by  General  Melikoff  to  his  assistance,  suffered  a  crushing 
defeat  from  the  Turks. 

Oklobjio,  General  Ivan  Dimitrievitch,  commander  of  the  "  Rion 
corps"  of  the  Russian  army  of  the  Caucasus,  is,  according  to  some 
accounts,  a  Dalmatian,  according  to  others,  a  Montenegrin.  He  was 
born  in  1821,  received  his  earlier  training  in  the  Austrian  Military 
Institutes,  and  afterward  completed  a  course,  with  honor,  in  the 
faculty  of  law  of  the  University  of  Padua.  He  entered  the  Russian 
military  service  in  1846  as  a  Second  Lieutenant  in  the  Yagers  of 
Prince  Voronzoff,  which  was  then  in  the  Caucasus.  He  was  en- 
gaged in  the  war  against  the  Caucasians,  but  was  present  at  the 
siege  of  Silistria  in  1854.  He  was  wounded  several  times  during 
his  Caucasian  campaigns ;  and  in  a  battle  with  the  Turks  in  1853,  he 
became  entirely  deaf  in  one  ear,  and  had  his  head  so  disfigured 
that  with  the  consent  of  the  Czar  he  afterward  wore  a  cap  instead 
of  a  helmet.  He  is  a  good  fighting  soldier,  but  he  is  not  regarded 
in  Russia  as  having  very  high  military  talent. 

Abdul  Kerim  Pasha,  who  was  appointed  Serdar  Ekrem  or 
Generalissimo  of  the  Turkish  army  in  the  beginning  of  the  war,  was 
for  a  long  time  looked  upon  as  the  ablest  of  the  Turkish  generals. 
He  is  a  Turk  of  the  old  school,  and  his  subordinates  are  fond  of 
extolling  the  straightforwardness  of  his  character.  He  was  born  in 
1807,  and  received  his  military  education  in  Vienna,  where  he  went 
as  a  young  officer.  He  has  ever  since  retained  a  great  predilection 
for  the  German  language,  which  he  speaks  tolerably  well,  and 
especially  for  German  newspapers  and  military  works,  which  he  reads 
regularly.  He  has  held  the  rank  of  Mushir  for  more  than  twenty- 
five  years.  He  served  at  first  in  Mesopotamia,  near  Diarbekr,  and 
Erzerum.  In  the  Crimean  war  he  commanded  the  Anatolian  army 
near  Erzerum  and  Kars,  but  as  the  statesmen  in  Constantinople  with- 
held from  him  the  necessary  supplies,  he  could  not  be  successful. 
He  took  part  in  the  campaign  against  Montenegro  under  Omer 
Pasha  (1862),  and  during  the  Cretan  insurrection  he  commanded  the 
corps  of  observation  in  Thessaly.  After  that  he  was  a  minister  on 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST.  53! 

several  occasions,  either  Minister  of  the  Police  or  Minister  of  War. 
The  latter  position  he  held  upon  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with  Rus- 
sia. In  the  war  with  Servia  he  held  the  chief  command  of  the 
Turkish  army,  and  upon  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with  Russia,  re- 
signed his  position  as  Minister  of  War  in  order  to  assume  the  supreme 
command  of  the  Turkish  forces  in  Europe.  After  the  successful 
and  rapid  advance  of  the  Russians  beyond  the  Balkans  he  was  re- 
moved on  July  23,  1877,  and  was  sent  to  the  island  of  Lemnos.  He 
is  to  be  tried  by  a  court-martial  after  the  conclusion  of  peace.  The 
immediate  instigator  of  his  removal  was  Prince  Hassan  of  Egypt, 
who,  having  come  to  the  conclusion  that  Abdul  Kerim  was  follow- 
ing no  definite  plan,  complained  to  the  Sultan.  Namyk  Pasha  was 
sent  to  investigate  the  charges  made,  and  when  he  corroborated 
Prince  Hassan's  statements,  Abdul  Kerim  was  removed  from  the 
command. 

Mehemet  AH  Pasha,  the  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Turkish 
forces  in  Bulgaria  after  the  removal  of  Abdul  Kerim  Pasha,  is  a 
Prussian,  having  been  born  in  Magdeburg,  November  18, 182Y.  His 
original  name  was  Julius  Detriot,  and  his  father  was  a  staff-trump- 
eter in  a  regiment  of  Brandenburg.  The  boy  was  placed  in  a  house 
of  business  at  Magdeburg,  but  becoming  dissatisfied  with  the  dull 
routine  of  his  life  there,  ran  away,  when  in  his  fifteenth  year,  and 
embarked  as  ship-boy  on  board  a  merchant  vessel  at  Rostok,  which 
was  about  to  sail  for  the  Levant.  The  youth  was  no  better  satisfied 
with  life  on  the  ship  than  he  had  been  with  that  of  the  business- 
house.  One  day,  while  the  vessel  on  which  he  had  shipped  was 
lying  in  the  Bosporus,  he  observed  a  caique,  conveying  a  Turkish 
officer.  He  jumped  overboard,  and  swam  toward  the  caique.  The 
officer,  who  proved  to  be  Ali  Pasha,  afterward  Grand  Yizier,  heard 
his  story,  became  interested  in  him,  and  took  him  under  his  pro- 
tection. At  the  very  outset  of  his  career  in  Ali  Pasha's  household, 
he  expressed  his  intention  of  changing  his  religion,  but  was  advised 
to  reflect  before  taking  such  a  step.  The  Chaplain  of  the  Prussian 
Embassy  was  even  called  in  to  remonstrate  with  him  against  this  step, 
but  he  persisted,  and  was  at  length  admitted  to  the  new  religion,  with 
the  new  name  of  Mehemet  Ali.  Two  years  later  he  was  sent  to  the 
military  school,  where  he  distinguished  himself  as  one  of  the  fore- 
most scholars.  Having  completed  the  course  of  the  school  in  1853, 
he  was  offered  a  position  as  assistant  in  the  institution,  but  declined 
it,  preferring  a  more  active  life  in  the  campaigns  of  the  Crimean 


532 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


war.  He  received  a  commission  as  Lieutenant,  and  went  to  the  field 
on  the  Danube,  where  he  first  came  under  fire  at  Silistria.  In  1857, 
he  was  a  Captain  at  Shumla,  came  under  the  notice  of  Omer  Pasha, 
and  was  appointed  to  a  position  on  his  staff,  in  which  capacity  he 
served  through  the  Crimean  war,  and  later  in  campaigns  in  Monte- 
negro, Arabia,  and  Bosnia.  He  became  a  Colonel  in  1863,  and  a 
General,  with  the  title  of  Pasha,  in  1865.  He  served  with  distinction 
during  the  insurrection  in  Crete,  and  again  on  the  Montenegrin 
frontier.  In  1873,  he  was  appointed  to  the  chief  command  of  the 
forces  in  Thessaly,  with  the  duty  of  suppressing  brigandage,  which 
he  discharged  with  great  ability  and  creditable  success.  Toward  the 
close  of  1875,  he  was  appointed  commander  at  Novi  Bazar,  in 
Bosnia,  and  was  afterward  engaged  in  operations  in  Servia.  While 
his  abilities  have  been  well-known  and  acknowledged,  he  was,  until 
he  was  appointed  to  the  chief  commandership  in  1877,  kept  back  in 
secondary  places,  under  the  jealous  and  foolish  policy  of  the  Turkish 
politicians,  which  leads  them  to  prefer,  even  for  the  most  important 
posts,  a  second-rate  native  Mussulman  to  a  first-rate  officer  of  foreign 
birth.  After  commanding  the  forces  in  Bulgaria  for  a  few  weeks, 
he  was  superseded  by  Suleiman  Pasha. 

Suleiman  Pasha,  who  attracted  considerable  attention  by  the  im- 
petuosity displayed  by  him  in  the  operations  against  Montenegro 
and  in  the  Shipka  Pass,  was  born  in  1838,  in  a  small  town  of 
Thrace.  Like  his  father,  he  devoted  himself  to  religious  pursuits. 
He  received  his  education  in  some  of  the  best  medressehs  of  Con- 
stantinople, and  pursued  his  studies  with  such  diligence  that  the 
Ulemas  gave  him  the  title  of  Hafuz — expounder  of  the  Koran. 
The  Crimean  war  found  him  in  the  army,  where  he  rose  to  be  adju- 
tant to  Omer  Pasha.  Upon  the  conclusion  of  peace,  he  entered  the 
military  school  of  Constantinople,  left  it  in  1860,  and  in  1862  took 
part  in  the  campaign  against  Montenegro.  When  the  insurrection 
broke  out  in  Crete,  he  went  there  as  the  commander  of  a  battalion 
in  the  Imperial  Guards,  and  displayed  such  bravery  that  he  was 
given  the  command  of  a  division,  although  he  only  held  the  rank 
of  Major.  Even  here  he  showed  a  predilection  for  operating 
wherever  the  most  difficulties  presented  themselves.  Upon  his 
return  to  Constantinople,  he  was  appointed  professor  in  the  military 
school,  was  sent  to  Yemen  when  the  revolt  broke  out  there,  and  re- 
turned with  the  rank  of  Colonel.  A  year  later,  he  was  a  Brigadier- 
General  and  sub-director  of  the  War  School,  and  when,  a  few  months 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST. 


533 


later,  Ghalib  Pasha  died,  Suleiman  was  appointed  its  first  director 
in  his  place.  This  position  he  held  uninterruptedly  until  the  out- 
break of  the  Servian  war  in  1876.  In  this  position  he  did  much  to 
reorganize  the  entire  system  of  military  instruction.  In  the  Servian 
war  of  18T6,  he  commanded  the  First  division  of  the  army  of  Nissa, 
with  the  rank  of  Ferik,  or  Lieutenant-General.  During  the  short 
interval  of  peace  that  followed,  he  was  a  member  of  the  commission 
that  drew  up  the  Turkish  Constitution.  In  1877,  he  was  appointed 
Mushir,  or  Field-Marshal,  and  was  assigned  to  the  command  in  the 
Herzegovina.  The  campaign  against  Montenegro  forms  the  most 
brilliant  episode  of  his  life.  "  For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of 
Turkey,"  the  Turkish  papers  said,  "  did  Turkish  troops  set  foot  on 
the  heights  of  Ostrok."  He  was  afterward  appointed  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  forces  in  Rumelia,  and  was  then  ordered  to  replace 
Mehemet  Ali  on  the  Lorn.  After  the  fall  of  Plevna,  he  again  went 
to  Rumelia,  where  he  was  completely  defeated  by  Gen.  Gourko. 
He  was  said  to  have  been  unpopular,  both  with  his  soldiers  and 
officers,  on  account  of  the  strictness  of  his  discipline.  It  is  said, 
also,  that  he  was  very  jealous  of  his  fellow-officers,  so  that  he  does 
not  like  to  co-operate  with  them.  He  is  described  as  being,  in 
appearance,  much  more  like  an  Engh'shman  or  a  North  German 
than  a  Turk,  being  tall  and  well-grown,  with  light  blue  eyes,  and  a 
flowing  red  beard,  exceedingly  particular  in  his  dress,  and  fond  of 
displaying  all  the  pomp  arid  ceremonial  of  his  station. 

Osman  Pasha,  the  defender  of  Plevna,  attracted  public  attention 
to  a  greater  degree  than  any  of  the  other  Turkish  generals  who  par- 
ticipated in  the  war.  His  defense  of  Plevna  ranks  among  the  most 
brilliant  operations  of  the  kind,  while,  by  his  selection  and  fortifica- 
tion of  this  place,  he  displayed  an  ingenuity  and  skill  which  gave  to 
him  a  high  rank  among  great  generals.  When  he  gained  his  first 
successes  at  Plevna,  and  his  identity  was  in  doubt,  it  was  stated  at 
one  time  that  he  was  Marshal  Bazaine,  the  defender  of  Metz,  and 
again  that  he  was  an  American  officer  by  the  name  of  Crawford  ; 
but  both  of  these  stories  are  without  foundation.  Osman  Pasha  is  a 
full-blooded  Turk,  having  been  born  in  Tokat,  in  Asia  Minor,  in 
1836.  He  began  his  studies  under  the  care  of  his  brother,  the  late 
Hussein  Effendi,  Professor  of  Arabic  in  the  Preparatory  School  at 
Constantinople.  11  e  studied  at  the  military  school,  where  he  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  his  excellent  scholarship,  and  whence  he  came 
out  the  first  in  standing,  at  the  final  examinations,  as  a  Lieutenant. 


534 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


He  entered  the  army  in  1853,  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  Crimean 
war  was  appointed  a  staff  officer,  and  sent  to  Shumla.  After  the 
close  of  the  Crimean  campaigns,  he  entered  the  Imperial  Guard  at 
Constantinople  as  a  Captain,  and  was  shortly  afterward  promoted  to 
be  commandant  of  a  battalion  of  the  Imperial  Guard.  "With  bis 
battalion,  he  was  sent  to  Crete,  to  assist  in  suppressing  the  insurrec- 
tion which  had  broken  out  in  that  island.  Ho  was  present  in  every 
movement  of  the  campaign,  and  returned  to  the  capital  a  Colonel. 
He  was  subsequently  appointed  Brigadier-General,  General  of  Divi- 
sion, and  Chief  of  Staff  of  the  Fourth  army  corps,  in  which  capacity 
he  commanded  a  division  at  Widin.  In  reward  for  his  eminent 
services  in  the  war  against  Servia,  he  was  raised  to  the  rank  of 
Mushir,  or  Marshal.  In  every  position  in  which  he  has  been 
placed,  Osman  Pasha  has  distinguished  himself  by  his  ability  and 
efficiency. 

Among  the  many  foreigners  who  have  entered  the  Turkish  serv- 
ice, none  probably  has  deserved  so  well  of  the  decaying  Empire  as 
the  English  Captain  Augustus  Charles  Hobart,  now  called  Hobart 
Pasha,  the  Admiral  of  the  Turkish  fleet.  Hobart  Pasha  is  the  third 
son  of  the  Earl  of  Buckinghamshire,  and  was  born  April  1,  1822. 
He  entered  the  British  navy  in  1835,  distinguished  himself  in  the 
Crimean  war,  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  Captain.  Thirsting  for  an  ad- 
venturous life,  Captain  Hobart  quitted  the  active  service  in  the  En- 
glish navy,  which,  however,  continued  his  name  in  the  list  of  retired 
officers.  During  the  civil  war  in  the  United  States,  he  commanded 
a  swift  blockade  runner,  the  "  Don,"  which  cruised  along  the  coast  of 
North  Carolina,  and  kept  up  maritime  communications  with  the 
Southern  States  in  spite  of  the  Federal  blockading  squadron.  He 
assumed  the  name  of  Captain  Roberts,  and  under  this  name  subse- 
quently published  an  account  of  his  experience,  but  during  the  war 
very  few  people  knew  the  daring  dealer  in  contraband  as  the  son  of 
the  Earl  of  Buckinghamshire.  A  few  years  later,  Admiral  Farragut 
met  Captain  Hobart  in  London,  and  in  the  course  of  conversation 
remarked  that  he  had  great  trouble  with  one  English  blockade  run- 
ner named  Roberts,  and  that  he  had  always  regretted  his  inability  to 
overhaul  him.  When  assured  that  Capt.  Hobart  and  Capt.  Roberts 
were  one  and  the  same  person,  the  Admiral  was  very  much  amused. 
In  the  account  which  Hobart  himself  gave  of  his  experience  as  a 
blockade  runner,  he  stated  that  he  made  about  £1,000  on  each  vent- 
ure, and  that  he  learned  fay  his  success  that  no  coast  of  much  extent 


GENERAL    TODLEBEN. 


V 


SULEIMAN    PASHA. 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST.  537 

could  be  successfully  blockaded.  In  1867,  he  was  invited  by  the 
Turkish  Government,  which  had  just  awakened  to  the  urgent  neces- 
sity of  reorganizing  its  demoralized  navy,  to  assume  the  difficult  task. 
Great  pecuniary  inducements  and  the  dignity  which  belongs  to  the 
rank  of  a  Pasha  were  tendered  to  him,  and  he  concluded  to  accept 
this  offer.  The  English  admiralty  was  greatly  displeased  with  this  step, 
and  warned  him  that  by  entering  the  Turkish  service  he  would  forfeit 
his  professional  rights  at  home.  Captain  Hobart's  first  commission 
in  the  Turkish  navy  was  that  of  Rear- Admiral.  During  the  Cretan  in- 
surrection he  was  commander  of  the  fleet  which  was  to  enforce  the 
blockade  of  Crete  against  the  Greeks.  He  was  completely  successful  in 
this  attempt,  and  even  compelled  the  Government  of  Greece  to  surren- 
der the  transport "  Enosis,"  which  had  taken  Greek  volunteers  to  Tur- 
key. In  reward  for  these  services,  the  Turkish  Government  appointed 
Hobart  Pasha,  in  the  latter  days  of  1869,  Yice-Admiral,  and  early  in 
the  following  March  he  was  made  an  Admiral,  and  Inspector-General 
of  the  entire  Turkish  navy.  When  the  English  admiralty  asked  for 
explanation  of  the  active  part  he  had  taken  in  the  suppression  of  the 
Cretan  insurrection,  Hobart  prayed  that  if  his  name  should  be  taken 
from  the  active  list,  he  might  remain  as  a  retired  officer.  The  re- 
quest, however,  was  not  complied  with,  and  on  March  19,  1868,  his 
name  was  removed  altogether.  Not  long  afterward  he  applied  for  a 
reinstatement,  and  the  subject  was  postponed.  In  1869,  a  Liberal 
Ministry  was  installed,  and  the  request  was  renewed,  only  to  be 
promptly  refused.  In  1874,  however,  a  Conservative  Ministry  hav- 
ing succeeded  the  Liberal  one,  Captain  Hobart  renewed  his  appeal, 
reciting  in  eloquent  phrases  the  disgrace  attending  his  dismissal,  and 
reminding  the  Ministry  of  the  encomiums  he  had  earned  by  organiz- 
ing the  Turkish  navy.  The  Earl  of  Derby  supported  this  application 
"  as  a  matter  of  Imperial  policy,"  considering  it  to  be  of  material 
advantage  that  Admiral  Hobart  Pasha  should  occupy  the  position  he 
held  in  Turkey.  The  Lords  of  the  Admiralty,  therefore,  consented 
to  allow  the  Hon.  Augustus  Hobart  to  be  reinstated  in  his  former 
rank  as  a  Captain  in  the  Royal  Navy,  placing  him  on  the  retired  list, 
with  the  half  pay,  £400  a  year,  and  with  the  opportunity  of  rising 
by  seniority  to  the  rank  of  Retired  Admiral.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
war  of  1877,  Hobart  Pasha  attracted  attention  by  his  bold  and  suc- 
cessful exploit  of  running  down  the  Danube,  past  the  Russian  bat- 
teries, with  the  Turkish  dispatch-boat  "  Rethymo." 

Achmed  Mukhtar  Pasha,  the  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Turkish 


538  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

troops  in  Asia  Minor,  is  believed  to  be  a  son  of  the  late  Sultan  Ab- 
dul-Aziz. He  is  one  of  the  few  pupils  of  the  Constantinople  Mili- 
tary School  who  are  famous  for  military  acquirements  at  home,  and 
successively  rose  to  be  a  Professor  and  Governor  of  the  institution  in 
which  he  was  educated.  He  is  still  a  young  man,  but  his  advance- 
ment in  the  Turkish  army  has  been  very  rapid.  He  began  his  mili- 
tary career  in  1862,  as  an  officer  of  the  general  staff  in  the  war 
against  Montenegro.  Later  he  fought  in  Yemen,  Arabia,  under  the 
command  of  Redif  Pasha,  against  the  rebellious  Bedouins,  and  dur- 
ing this  campaign  he  attained  the  rank  of  a  Brigadier-General. 
"When  Redif  Pasha  was  recalled  to  Constantinople,  Mukhtar  Pasha 
became  Vali  (governor)  of  Yemen  and  commander  of  the  troops 
of  this  vilayet,  with  the  rank  of  a  Yizier.  From  Yemen  he  was 
recalled  in  order  to  be  appointed  Governor-General  of  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovina,  where  Dervish  Pasha  had  been  entirely  usuccess- 
ful  in  his  efforts  to  subdue  the  insurrection.  At  first  he  gained  a 
few  successes,  but  his  defeat  in  the  Duga  Pass  seriously  injured  his 
military  reputation.  Against  the  small  number  of  the  Montene- 
grins he  was  equally  unsuccessful.  To  the  chief  command  of  the 
Asiatic  army  he  was  appointed  at  the  special  request  of  the  Minis- 
ter of  War,  Redif  Pasha,  who  refused  to  assume  this  position  be- 
cause he  feared  that  a  protracted  absence  from  Constantinople  would 
be  equivalent  to  a  loss  of  his  power  and  influence.  The  opening 
of  the  Asiatic  campaign  strengthened  the  widespread  mistrust  in 
Mukhtar's  military  ability,  and  the  loss  of  Ardahan  was  followed 
by  a  general  clamor  for  his  removal.  Mukhtar  Pasha  has  a  kindly 
expression,  and  large,  dark  Oriental  eyes. 

Ghazi  Mehmed,  Chief  of  the  Circassian  Free  Corps  in  Asia,  is  a  son 
of  the  celebrated  Circassian  chieftain  Shamyl,  the  leader  of  the 
Circassians  in  their  last  war  against  Russia.  He  was  taken  a  pris- 
oner with  his  father  by  the  Russians,  and  was  brought  up  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Court  of  St.  Petersburg.  His  brother  entered 
the  Russian  army,  but  he  would  not  accustom  himself  to  European 
relations,  and  used  every  opportunity  to  form  for  himself  connec- 
tions with  the  East.  With  the  permission  of  the  Czar  he  went  to 
Constantinople  ;  thence  he  entered  into  communication  with  the 
Circassians  of  Upper  Armenia  who  lived  under  Turkish  rule.  Upon 
the  outbreak  of  the  war  in  1877  he  avowed  himself  a  Mussulman, 
and  an  enemy  of  Russia,  raised  a  free-corps,  and  was  sent  by  the 
Porte  to  Trebizond.  He  accompanied  the  Turkish  expedition  to 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST.     .  539 

Sukhum  Kaleh  and  Abkhasia,  and  exerted  himself  actively  to  excite 
a  general  insurrection  of  the  Mohammedan  tribes.  He  bears  a 
striking  resemblance  to  his  father. 

Feizi  Pasha,  Chief  of  Staff  to  Mukhtar  Pasha,  and  the  most 
accomplished  and  skillful  of  the  Turkish  generals  in  Asia,  is  a  Hun- 
garian by  birth,  whose  proper  name  is  Kohlman.  He  came  to  Tur- 
key about  thirty  years  ago,  and  owes  his  Pashalic  to  the  late  Sultan 
Abdul- Aziz,  who  was  struck  by  his  behavior  at  a  sham  fight  a  few 
years  ago,  and  promoted  him.  He  won  renown  in  the  defense  of 
Kars,  under  Sir  Fenwick  "Williams,  in  1855.  In  the  present  war, 
he  is  credited  with  the  completion  of  the  defensive  works  around 
Batum,  Ardahan,  Ears,  and  Erzerum ;  with  the  able  management 
as  nominally  second,  though  really  chief  in  command,  at  the  battle 
of  Zewin,  by  means  of  which  that  engagement  resulted  in  a  grand 
Turkish  victory  ;  and  by  his  preparation  of  the  Deve  Boyun  in  front 
of  Erzerum  for  occupation  by  the  retreating  Turkish  army,  and  his 
gallant  conduct  in  the  engagement  of  the  5th  of  November  on  that 
hill.  Owing  to  the  Turkish  jealousy  of  foreign  officers,  he  has  been 
kept  in  a  secondary  position,  much  below  that  which  his  merits  should 
have  commanded  for  him,  and  was  retired  to  one  still  more  subor- 
dinate during  the  interval  between  the  summer  and  fall  campaigns. 
The  success  of  Mukhtar  Pasha  during  the  summer  campaign  is  be- 
lieved to  have  been  mostly  owing  to  his  counsels,  and  the  belief  is 
confirmed  by  the  fact  that  after  his  retirement  Mukhtar's  good  for- 
tune deserted  him.  Feizi  Pasha  has  not  become  wholly  a  Turk, 
for  he  retains  many  European  ways  in  his  family  life. 

ISTedjib  Pasha,  also  called  Medjid  Pasha,  is  about  forty  years  old. 
He  is  a  Turk  by  birth,  but  a  European  by  education  and  by  his 
mode  of  living.  Contrary  to  the  customs  of  his  race,  he  married  a 
Christian  lady  of  Banialuka,  in  Bosnia,  and  since  then  has  always 
lived  in  accordance  with  the  manners  of  Western  civilization.  He 
was  educated  in  the  military  school  of  Brussels,  and  spent  several 
years  in  France,  England,  and  Italy.  In  1875  he  commanded  a 
brigade  in  the  Herzegovina  under  Dervish  Pasha.  Returning  to 
Constantinople  in  the  early  part  of  1876,  he  joined  in  the  conspiracy 
to  overthrow  Abdul  Aziz,  and  was  promoted  by  Murad  Y.  to  the  rank 
of  Lieutenant-General.  During  the  war  with  Servia,  he  was  Chief 
of  Staff  to  Abdul  Kerim,  and  upon  the  outbreak  of  the  present  war 
was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  First  division  of  the  Army  of 
the  Danube,  with  which  he  inflicted  several  defeats  on  the  Russians. 


540  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST, 

Taver  Pasha,  a  Circassian  by  birth,  is  a  graduate  of  the  Military 
School  of  Constantinople,  and  is  considered  to  be  the  most  accom- 
plished infantry  commander  in  the  Turkish  army.  He  particularly 
signalized  himself  at  the  head  of  the  chasseurs  in  the  sorties  which 
marked  the  siege  of  Silistria  in  1854.  He  was  appointed  Minister 
of  War  by  Abdul  Aziz  in  1871,  and  acquitted  himself  of  his  functions 
with  rare  honesty  and  zeal.  After  the  passage  of  the  Danube  by 
the  Russians,  he  was  sent  to  aid  in  directing  the  defensive  opera- 
tions on  the  Turkish  side  of  the  Danube.  Yaver  Pasha  is  one  of 
the  handsomest  men  living,  and,  like  his  Circassian  compatriots,  is 
brave  and  adventurous  even  to  rashness.  He  is  noted  for  the  sin- 
gular mildness  of  his  disposition,  and  his  unwillingness  to  prosecute 
recalcitrant  giaurs,  without  which  he  would  probably  long  since 
have  been  appointed  to  the  command  in  chief  of  one  of  the  armies 
of  the  Empire. 

Shevket  Pasha  is  the  Turkish  officer  who  is  charged  with  the 
responsibility  for  the  outrages  which  were  committed  in  Bulgaria  in 
1876.  He  had  the  command  of  the  forces  whose  members  com- 
mitted the  outrages,  and  should  have  prevented  them,  but  made  no 
effort  to  do  so.  It  is  told  of  him  that  three  years  ago  he  was  a 
lieutenant,  serving  in  the  Herzegovina  under  Edhem  Pasha.  His 
commander,  having  a  taste  for  drawing,  sometimes  made  portraits 
of  his  officers,  which  he  would  send  to  Constantinople  for  the  enter- 
tainment of  the  Sultan.  Among  these  portraits  was  that  of  Shevket 
Pasha.  Abdul  Aziz,  being  struck  with  its  appearance,  directed  the 
picture  to  be  placed  in  his  private  gallery,  and  each  time  that  he 
passed  before  it  ordered  the  promotion  of  the  original  to  a  higher 
rank.  Shevket  Pasha's  complicity  with  the  Bulgarian  outrages  did 
not  lose  him  the  favor  of  the  Porte.  He  was  removed  to  a  more 
obscure  field  of  action  for  a  short  time,  but  was  brought  back  to 
Bulgaria  during  the  summer  of  1877,  and  placed  in  a  higher  position 
than  he  had  before  occupied. 

Rauf  Pasha,  who  occupied  various  positions  during  the  war,  was 
born  in  1838.  He  was  nominally  Minister  of  the  Navy,  but  since 
July,  1877,  he  was  employed  on  the  seat  of  war.  He  served  as 
Minister  of  War  for  a  short  time  in  October,  1877,  and  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  same  office  in  the  reorganized  Cabinet  of  February 
5,  1878. 

Fuad  Pasha  is  considered  the  best  cavalry  general  of  the  Turkish 
army.  He  is  a  Circassian  by  birth,  but  was  brought  up  in  Con- 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THE  CONTEST.  54! 

etantinople,  and  received  an  excellent  education.  He  has  brought 
his  cavalry  division  to  a  high  standard  of  perfection.  He  com- 
manded the  right  wing  of  Suleiman's  army,  which  made  the  ad- 
vance on  Elena  in  the  beginning  of  December,  and  with  it  captured 
that  town  on  the  4th. 

Dervish  Pasha,  the  commander  of  the  Turkish  forces  at  Batum, 
is  a  Bulgarian  by  birth,  who  has  apostatized  from  Christianity  to 
Islamism,  and  was  born  in  1817.  He  first  became  known  in  a  cam- 
paign in  the  Cassan  Dagh  against  the  Kurds.  He  was  appointed 
War  Minister  in  1873,  and  afterward  became  Minister  of  the  Marine. 
At  a  later  period  he  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  forces  in 
Albania,  with  which  he  conducted,  in  1876,  an  unsuccessful  and 
disastrous  campaign  against  Montenegro.  He  was  superseded  in 
his  command  by  Mehemet  Ali,  and  was  shortly  afterward,  after  the 
massacre  of  the  6th  of  May,  1876,  appointed  Governor  of  Salonica. 
In  June,  1877,  he  was  transferred  from  this  position  to  assume  the 
command  at  Batum,  and  the  direction  of  operations  in  Northern 
Anatolia.  His  campaigns  in  this  district  were  very  successful,  he 
having,  in  July,  1877,  compelled  the  Russians  to  abandon,  one  after 
another,  the  important  positions  which  they  had  occupied  around 
Batum,  and  to  retire  to  the  frontier. 


THIRD    BOOK. 


THE 


EASTERN  QUESTION  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  WAR 
-AN  OUTLOOK  INTO  THE  FUTURE. 


THIRD    BOOK. 


THE 

EASTERN  QUESTION  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  WAR 
-AN  OUTLOOK  INTO  THE  FUTURE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    DOOM    OF    TURKEY. 

The  Turkish  Power  in  Europe  destroyed  by  the  War — The  Turks  can  not  retain  their 
hold  upon  the  Autonomous  Provinces — Discontent  sure  to  spread  to  the  other  Prov- 
inces—How Bulgaria  separates  the  Capital  from  the  Provinces— Probable  Destiny 
of  Bosnia  and  the  Greek  Provinces — What  will  become  of  the  Turks — Principles  of 
Decay  essential  in  the  Turkish  System  —  The  Koran  a  Barrier  to  all  Progress  —  The 
Mohammedan  System  in  Conflict  with  Popular  Government— The  Turk  can  not 
be  Europeanized  —  Fatalism— Low  Condition  of  Education  hi  Turkey — Amusing 
Illustrations — The  Turkish  Language  an  Obstacle  to  Scientific  Instruction— Christian 
Schools — They  tend  to  build  up  the  Christian  Nationalities  at  the  Expense  of  the 
Turkish  System  —  Debasing  Effect  of  Polygamy  —  The  Conscription  depleting  the 
Country  of  its  Moslem  Youth — Sanitary  Deficiencies — Decline  of  Turkish  Popula- 
tion— Growing  Importance  and  Influence  of  the  Christians — Decadence  of  the  Turkish 
Official  Aristocracy — Condition  of  Asia  Minor — Account  by  a  French  Traveler — Pic- 
ture by  an  American  Missionary — Testimony  of  other  Authors  to  the  Ruin  of  the 
Country— The  African  Dependencies  of  Turkey— Egypt,  Tunis,  Tripoli— Frailty  of 
the  Tenure  by  which  they  are  held— The  Bedouins— The  Ultimate  Fate  of  Turkey. 

THE  war  of  18T7-"T8,  although  it  has  not  expelled  the  Turks  from 
Europe,  has  destroyed  their  power  there  forever.  It  has  inflicted  a 
greater  blow  upon  their  dominion  than  was  given  by  the  achieve- 
ment of  the  independence  of  Greece,  and  the  erection  into  semi- 
independence  of  Servia  and  Rumania.  It  has  made  the  independence; 
of  the  last  two  States  complete,  and  has  established  in  their  former- 
position  of  semi-independence,  a  new  principality — Bulgaria — which, 
having  equal  natural  advantages  and  a  population  equally  enterpris- 
ing and  capable,  has  before  it  a  promise  of  a  career  of  at  least  as. 
29  (545) 


546  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

rapid  advance  toward  full  independence  as  they  enjoyed  at  the  time  of 
the  conclusion  of  the  peace  of  Paris.  It  is  a  district  which  already 
contained  the  most  prosperous  agricultural  and  manufacturing  indus- 
tries in  the  Empire,  and  which  only  needed  a  good  government  and 
the  steady  protection  of  its  people,  to  become  its  richest  and  happiest 
province.  However  much  diplomatists  may  seek  in  their  treaties 
and  their  agreements  with  each  other  to  restrain  the  natural  course 
of  events  in  order  to  preserve  the  balance  of  power  in  Europe,  how- 
ever much  they  may  quarrel  over  some  particular  provisions  of  the 
treaty  of  peace,  and  however  much  they  may  endeavor,  in  order  to 
serve  their  own  ends  or  defeat  their  rivals,  to  preserve  the  integrity 
of  what  is  left  of  European  Turkey,  the  Turks  have  ceased  to  con- 
trol its  nationalities ;  and  the  semblance  of  control  which  is  yet 
allowed  to  remain  to  them  can  not  be  permanent,  but  must  pass 
away.  The  Treaty  of  Paris,  with  its  provisions  carefully  framed  to 
perpetuate  the  power  of  Turkey  as  it  was,  and  render  attempts  to 
assail  it  impossible,  has  been  gradually  worn  away  by  the  friction  of 
national  and  religious  rights,  till  it  was  discovered  to  be  ready  to 
collapse  under  a  determined  assault  as  suddenly  as  the  Turkish  power 
collapsed  after  the  surrender  of  Plevna ;  and  any  new  instrument 
which  may  be  framed  by  the  powers  will  as  surely  be  worn  away 
under  a  similar  friction,  and  become  void.  The  Turks  found  it  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  manage  their  Christian  provinces  under  their  old 
system  of  appointing  Turkish  and  Mohammedan  administrators  over 
them ;  they  will  find  it  impossible  to  do  so  after  the  provinces  have 
been  given  governors  of  their  own  people  and  have  become  accus- 
tomed to  having  the  administration  of  their  affairs  lodged  in  their 
own  hands.  Bulgaria,  with  autonomy,  and  fortified  with  the  prepara- 
tions for  self-government,  which  it  has  already  been  able  to  make 
under  the  most  adverse  circumstances,  will  soon  find  means  to  rid 
itself  of  the  last  remnant  of  Turkish  power.  It  has  already,  as  we 
shall  show  further  along,  won  a  harder  fight  against  the  Fanariote 
Greeks,  and  popular  ignorance,  and  lassitude  than  the  one  now  be- 
fore it  is  likely  to  be ;  and  it  has  the  example  of  Servia  and  Ruma- 
nia to  encourage  it.  The  happy  fate  which  has  now  befallen  it, 
with  the  inspiration  of  ever-successful  Montenegro,  can  only  serve 
to  increase  the  discontent  in  the  other  provinces,  one  of  which, 
Bosnia,  may  be  regarded  as  the  birth-place  of  the  late  war,  while 
the  others  are  inhabited  chiefly  by  Greeks,  who  are  among  the 
most  enterprising  of  peoples,  are  always  determined  to  possess  as 


THE  DOOM  OF  TURKEY.  547 

good  gifts  as  their  neighbors  enjoy,  and  are  quite  as  averse  to  for- 
eign rule  as  are  any  Slavic  nationalties. 

A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  how  great  is  the  loss  in  territory 
to  Turkey  by  the  recent  changes.  A  careful  examination  of  the 
map  of  the  distribution  of  the  races  and  religions  of  Turkey,  which 
is  given  in  this  work,  will  make  it  manifest  that  this  is  far  from  be- 
ing the  most  serious  of  the  breaches  that  have  been  made  in  its 
power.  The  new  autonomous  principality  of  Bulgaria  takes  more 
than  one-third  of  what  is  left  of  the  European  part  of  the  Empire 
after  Servia  and  En  mania  are  removed  from  direct  Turkish  rule ; 
and  this  part  includes  nearly  all  the  compact  settlements  of  Turks. 
The  Turks,  it  will  be  noticed,  are  congregated  in  the  largest  masses 
in  the  Dobrudja  and  North-eastern  Bulgaria,  which  are  lost  to  Tur- 
key, and  in  the  vilayet  of  Adrianople,  where  the  greater  part  of 
them  fall  within  Bulgaria.  To  Turkey  fall  only  the  smaller  set- 
tlements in  the  south-west  sandwiched  between  compact  masses  of 
Greeks  and  Bulgarians,  those  around  Constantinople,  and  the  scat- 
tered Turkish  settlements  between  the  capital  and  the  Bulgarian 
part  of  the  vilayet  of  Adrianople.  The  rest  of  the  territory  is  in- 
habited entirely  by  Greeks,  Albanians,  or  Servians.  This  is  not  all. 
The  new  Bulgaria  splits  the  European  Empire  completely  in  two. 
Leaving  a  very  small  territory  around  Constantinople,  it  wholly  cuts 
off  Epirus,  Thessaly,  Macedonia,  and  Albania  from  land  communi- 
cation, and  leaves  Bosnia  practically  inaccessible  and  quite  at  the 
mercy  of  Servia  and  Montenegro.  The  situation  and  extent  of  the 
principality  deprive  the  Turks  of  every  means  of  counteracting  the 
gravitation  of  their  Greek  provinces  toward  Greece,  and  render  it 
almost  certain  that  Bosnia  will  be  presssd  into  union  with  Servia  or 
the  new  Slavic  nation  which  may  be  formed  in  Austria-Hungary,  or 
absorbed  in  the  Austrian  Empire.  Even  if  the  Turks  were  the 
most  civilized  and  influential  of  the  nationalities  on  the  Balkan 
peninsula,  it  would  be  difficult  for  them  to  retain  their  sover- 
eignty there.  As  the  opposite  is  the  case ;  as  they  are  the  least  civil- 
ized, the  least  active,  and  the  least  liked,  a  long  continuance  of  their 
rule  seems  impossible ;  and  as  we  have  seen,  the  situation  and  con- 
formation of  the  Bulgarian  principality  can  only  act  to  hasten  the 
time  of  their  removal.  It  is  generally  hazardous  and  unwise  to  pre- 
dict the  future  of  any  nation ;  there  are  so  many  circumstances  that 
may  suddenly  change  the  aspect  of  its  affairs  ;  and  the  possibility 
must  always  be  taken  into  account  that  great  reforms  may  be  in- 


548  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

stituted  to  arrest  a  downward  tendency,  and  the  occurrence  of  great 
crises  may  operate  to  awaken  the  slumbering  energies  of  the  people 
and  excite  a  revival  of  their  national  life  ;  but  it  is  certain  that  there 
is  very  much  in  the  condition  and  character  of  the  Turks  which 
makes  the  reduction  of  their  Empire  to  very  small  limits,  or  even 
their  total  destruction,  highly  probable. 

The  principle  of  decay  is  contained  in  the  very  foundation  of 
the  Turkish  system.  The  whole  political  and  social  fabric  of  a 
Mohammedan  State  is  built  upon  the  Koran.  The  Koran  is  not 
only  the  religious  book,  or  Bible ;  it  is  also,  and  as  much,  the  law 
book  and  the  school  book  for  every  true  Mussulman.  It  is  regarded 
as  containing  everything  that  is  necessary  as  a  rule  of  life  in  the 
individual  or  the  State.  Whatever  is  not  in  the  Koran,  is  hrfld 
to  be  useless  if  it  does  not  disagree  with  it — false,  if  it  is  incon- 
sistent with  it ;  in  either  case  is  liable  to  be  rejected.  While  we 
may  admit  that  the  gift  of  the  Koran,  imperfect  as  it  was,  was  a 
boon  to  the  barbarous  peoples  upon  whom  it  was  at  first  conferred, 
in  that  it  imposed  restraints  upon  those  who  had  acknowledged 
none  before,  and  principles  upon  those  who  had  known  no  princi- 
ple, the  gift  was  also  a  harmful  one,  in  that  it  fixed  a  mark  beyond 
which  improvement  would  not  be  permitted  to  go,  and  would  not 
be  possible.  "  The  great  evils  of  the  old  Oriental  system,"  says  Mr. 
E.  A.  Freeman,  in  his  "  History  and  Conquests  of  the  Saracens," 
"  were  despotism,  polygamy,  absence  of  law.  None  of  these  has 
Mohammedanism  removed.  It  has,  indeed,  partially  alleviated 
them,  but,  by  the  very  fact  of  alleviating,  it  has  sanctioned  and 
stereotyped  them."  These  few  words  contain,  as  in  a  nut-shell,  the 
whole  story  of  Turkish  misrule,  and  of  the  failure  of  attempts  at 
reform,  and  the  evils  under  which  the  Empire  is  suffering  at  this 
day. 

By  the  law  and  doctrine  of  the  Koran,  the  State  is  regarded  as 
a  theocracy.  Its  theory  is,  that  the  State  exists  by  the  direct  will 
of  God ;  that  it  is  governed  in  His  service,  and  in  accordance  with 
His  foreordained  decrees,  and  it  leaves  no  place  for  the  inclusion  of 
the  good  and  prosperity  of  the  people  and  the  consultation  of  their 
desires,  which  are  now  fundamental  features  of  the  Constitution  of 
most  Western  Governments.  It  also  precludes  the  introduction  of 
any  genuine  and  general  system  of  consulting  the  will  of  the  people 
in  directing  the  Government,  for  that  would  be  at  once  to  set  up 
another  authority  in  contradiction  to  the  one  by  which  the  head  of 


THE  DOOM  OF  TURKEY. 


549 


the  State  holds  his  right  to  rule.  On  this  point,  Mr.  Freeman  again 
says:  "The  legitimate  Mohammedan  despot  either  claims  to  be 
himself  the  Caliph,  or  representative  of  the  Prophet,  or  to  act  as  the 

lieutenant  of  one  who  does His  will  is,  indeed,  bridled  by 

the  precepts  of  the  Koran  and  the  expositions  of  its  commentators, 
but  the  existence  of  this  check  effectually  precludes  the  existence  of 
any  other ;  consequently,  Mohammedanism  has  done  really  little  or 
nothing  for  the  political  improvement  of  the  Eastern  world.  No 
Mohammedan  nation  has  attained,  or  ever  can  attain,  to  Constitu- 
tional freedom,  while  the  same  man  is  Pope  and  Caesar,  while  the 
same  volume  is  Bible  and  statute  book;  there  is  no  choice  but  des- 
potism or  anarchy.  The  individual  Caliph,  or  Sultan,  may  be  got 
rid  of  when  his  yoke  has  became  insupportable ;  but  the  institution 
of  an  irresponsible  Caliph,  or  Sultan,  can  only  be  got  rid  of  when 
the  creed  of  Mohammed  is  got  rid  of  also."  This,  although  it  was 
written  twenty  years  ago,  presents  as  accurate  a  picture  of  the 
Turkish  nation  in  1877  as  if  it  had  been  said  in  the  full  light  of  the 
dethronement  of  two  Sultans  in  the  same  year,  and  of  the  failure 
of  the  effort  to  satisfy  the  complaints  of  the  people  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  Constitutional  government. 

The  Mohammedan  system  in  Turkey  at  last  finds  itself  in  full 
conflict  with  the  demand  of  the  age  for  government  by  the  people, 
for  the  people — a  demand  which  has  revolutionized  every  other 
State  in  Europe  except  Russia.  It  can  not  make  a  genuine  submis- 
sion to  the  demand  without  ceasing  to  be  itself.  No  compromise  is 
possible.  A  complete  surrender  must  be  made  by  one  side  or  the 
other.  In  the  light  of  the  history  of  the  last  thirty  years,  it  is  im- 
possible to  doubt  which  side  will  prevail. 

The  theocratic  system  was  well  adapted  for  the  purposes  which 
the  earlier  Mohammedan  leaders  had  to  carry  out,  and  was  undoubt- 
edly a  real  source  of  strength  while  those  purposes  were  prosecuted. 
The  mission  of  early  Mohammedanism  was  to  overcome  the  nations, 
and  convert  them  to  the  faith  revealed  to  the  Prophet.  It  made  an 
army  of  the  believers,  who  were  kept  constantly  at  war,  going  for- 
ward from  one  conquest  to  another.  All  their  wars  were  holy  wars. 
The  teachings  of  the  Koran  were  skillfully  adapted  to  inflame  their 
fanatic  zeal,  to  make  them  brave,  enduring,  inflexible,  devoted.  It 
forbade  them  the  enjoyments  of  a  settled  life,  and  gave  them  those 
which  appertained  to  the  camp.  It  took  from  them  what  made  the 
present  life  agreeable,  and  promised  them  instead  the  richest 


550  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

rewards  in  the  life  to  come,  for  self-denying  devotion.  To  destroy 
what  few  of  the  attractions  of  home-life  the  Orientals  knew,  the 
Koran  was  made  to  speak  everywhere  slightingly  of  woman.  As 
the  pursuits  of  knowledge  and  art  were  not  compatible  with  the 
warlike  condition,  painting  and  sculpture  were  condemned  as  inven- 
tions of  the  devil,  music  and  poetry  as  trifling.  Hatred  was  instilled 
against  unbelievers  who  refused  to  be  converted,  who  were  further 
made  lawful  subjects  for  murder  or  spoil.  The  reservation  that  the 
conquered  infidels  should  be  permitted  to  purchase  immunity  by  the 
payment  of  a  ransom,  while  it  did  not  abate  the  zeal  of  the  faithful, 
inflamed  their  cupidity.  Lastly,  the  doctrine  of  fatality,  teaching 
that  all  events  are  predestinated  by  God,  and  are  inevitable,  was 
invented  to  make  the  soldiers  reckless  and  insensible  to  danger. 
"  Thus,"  says  Dr.  Carl  Griibler,  in  his  ''  Mohammedanism,  Pan- 
slavism,  and  Byzantism,"  "  was  everything  taken  away  from  the 
believer,  and  nothing  left  to  him  but  the  duties  to  obey,  to  fight, 
and  to  die.  Mohammedanism  is  an  iron-hearted,  narrow,  and  strict 
sold  i  e  r  s'-religion. " 

"While  the  Mohammedans  continued  to  lead  a  soldier-life,  these 
regulations  had  their  fullest  sway,  and  were  a  real  bond  of  union 
among  them  and  a  source  of  strength.  They  were,  however,  un- 
fitted for  any  other  life.  "When  the  tribes  ceased  to  war,  and  began 
to  settle,  they  were  no  longer  active,  or  could  act  only  in  a  perverted 
manner;  and  the  whole  system,  of  which  they  were  an  essential 
part,  was  subject  to  a  decay,  which  has  become  more  manifest  as 
time  has  removed  the  nation  further  from  the  conditions  to  which 
they  were  adapted. 

In  the  present  century  they  have  operated  among  the  most  power- 
ful agencies  for  undermining  the  political  and  social  life  of  the 
Ottomans.  They  can  not  originate  a  progressive  civilization,  but  they 
may  and  do  operate  as  a  block  to  the  introduction  of  any  other  civiliza- 
tion. As  Mr.  Freeman  has  well  expressed  it :  "  A  Mohammedan  native 
accepts  a  certain  amount  of  truth,  receives  a  certain  amount  of  civili- 
zation, practices  a  certain  amount  of  toleration.  But  all  these  are  so 
many  obstacles  to  the  acceptance  of  truth,  civilization,  and  tolera- 
tion in  their  perfect  shape.  The  Moslem  has  just  enough  of  all  on 
which  to  rest  and  pride  himself,  and  no  longer  feels  his  own  defi- 
ciencies." As  the  principles  of  Mohammedanism  are  opposed  to  all 
the  ideas  on  which  European  culture  rests,  they  forbid  the  success- 
ful introduction  of  such  culture  among  the  Turks  while  they  remain 


THE  DOOM  OF  TURKEY.  55! 

Mohammedan.  It  is  impossible  to  conceive  of  a  nation  as  free  or 
enlightened  according  to  Western  views  of  freedom  and  enlighten- 
ment, whose  ruler,  though  he  be  a  fool  or  an  idiot  as  well  as  a  de- 
bauchee, is  invested  with  sanctity ;  which  has  no  family  life,  which 
despises  art  and  attaches  no  value  to  knowledge,  and  whose  fatalism 
forbids  all  kinds  of  enterprise  and  every  earnest,  persistent  effort  to 
improve  its  condition,  and  which  despises  its  neighbors  in  their 
strength  while  it  cherishes  its  weaknesses  with  pride.  It  is  therefore 
just  what  might  have  been  expected  from  the  nature  of  things  that 
every  effort  to  engraft  European  principles  npon  Moslem  life  has 
either  totally  failed,  or  has  resulted  in  the  creation  of  a  ridiculous 
travesty.  The  French  traveler,  M.  Auguste  Choisy,  after  having 
carefully  observed  the  Turks  at  home,  both  in  Constantinople  and 
in  Asia,  remarks  that  it  is  a  mistake  to  believe  that  their  capital  has 
become  a  European  city.  "  The  Old  Turk  may  wear  the  garments 
of  reform,  but  he  has  only  changed  his  clothes,  and  this  same  Turk 
who  dresses  as  you  do  and  speaks  your  words,  no  more  shares  your 
feelings,  your  tastes,  or  your  ideas,  than  a  contemporary  of  Solyman 
or  Mohammed  II."  Another  writer  compares  Ottoman  culture  to 
a  building  which  has  been  begun  at  the  roof  without  a  proper  foun- 
dation, and  Turkey  clothed  in  European  garments  to  a  pretentious 
peasant  girl  who  has  dressed  herself  in  fine  feathers  and  gloves, 
while  she  knows  nothing  about  stockings  and  pocket-handkerchiefs. 
The  views  of  these  writers  are  corroborated  by  the  general  testimony 
of  writers  on  Turkey  and  correspondents  from  the  chief  towns  of 
the  Empire. 

The  doctrine  of  fatalism  has  proved  a  rigid  barrier  to  progress, 
and  has  prevented  the  development  of  everything  like  energy  or 
enterprise.  It  teaches  that  as  everything  has  been  foreordained  of 
God,  nothing  can  be  avoided,  nothing  can  be  hastened ;  then  why 
struggle,  why  plan,  why  build  for  the  future  ?  Let  everything  go  ; 
it  is  God's  will.  In  rare  consistency  with  his  professed  faith,  the 
Turk  does  let  everything  go.  Indolence  is  a  universal  characteristic 
of  the  race.  Indifference  to  ruin  and  the  progress  of  destructive 
agencies  prevails  everywhere.  Foresight  is  rarely  found.  The 
peasant  tills  enough  ground  to  afford  him  probably  a  bare  living,  and 
if  the  crops  fail,  he  dies  of  hunger.  The  result  in  either  event  is 
accepted  as  the  decree  of  fate.  This  doctrine,  which  was  good,  as 
we  have  shown,  in  war  time,  and  in  which  lies  in  part  the  secret  of 
the  wonderful  bravery  and  endurance  of  the  Turkish  soldiers,  be- 


552  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

comes  a  fatal  one  under  other  circumstances.  One  can  not  doubt, 
says  Mr.  Freeman,  that  it  "had  a  wonderful  effect  in  animating  the 
spirits  of  the  first  Saracens ;  but  its  ultimate  effect  has  been  perni- 
cious to  the  last  degree.  When  the  first  heat  of  enthusiasm  is  over, 
this  same  doctrine  leads  to  quite  opposite  results.  It  becomes  a 
mere  excuse  for  stupid  and  listless  idleness  ;  submission  to  the  divine 
will  is  held  to  render  all  human  exertion  superfluous.  Nothing  in 
the  world  is  so  energetic  as  a  Mohammedan  nation  in  its  youth ; 
nothing  is  so  utterly  feeble  as  a  Mohammedan  nation  in  its  old  age." 
The  blighting  influences  of  the  Koran  are  strikingly  exemplified 
in  the  low  condition  of  education  in  Turkey.  A  liberal,  thorough 
education  is  incompatible  with  the  principles  of  Islam.  The  Koran 
is  the  universal  text-book  ;  it  is  the  only  text-book  in  most  of  the 
schools ;  and  is  the  standard  in  all  the  people's  schools,  to  which  the 
teaching  must  conform.  It  is  full  of  errors  on  matters  of  fact,  but 
they  must  be  taught  without  attempting  to  correct  them,  for  it  is 
impious  to  contradict  what  is  in  the  Holy  Book.  More  often,  how- 
ever, the  teaching  amounts  to  nothing.  The  instruction  is  quite 
mechanical,  and  consists  chiefly  in  learning  to  read  the  characters,  to 
recite  the  phrases  of  the  Koran  in  an  approved  style,  and  to  write  a 
fair  hand.  As  the  book  is  in  the  Arabic  language,  which  the  chil- 
dren never  comprehend  and  the  teacher  seldom  understands,  no 
ideas  whatever  are  conveyed.  A  pupil  may  learn  to  repeat  the 
whole  Koran  by  heart  without  being  able  to  give,  or  comprehending 
himself,  the  meaning  of  a  single  text.  Further  than  this  he  may 
learn  what  principles  of  Moslem  duty  and  outward  behavior  the 
fanatic  teacher  may  be  able  to  impart,  prominent  among  which  is 
contempt  for  all  unbelievers.  In  some  schools  instruction  is  given 
in  the  four  primary  rules  of  arithmetic  and  in  geography ;  but  in 
the  latter  branch  the  teacher  has  to  guard  carefully  against  affording 
too  much  information,  lest  he  come  in  conflict  with  the  extremely 
absurd  doctrines  of  the  Koran  respecting  the  shape  and  extent  of  the 
earth  and  the  structure  of  the  universe.  Better  schools  have  been 
provided  in  a  few  places ;  but  they  are  only  special  schools,  to  which 
a  limited  number  of  privileged  persons  have  access,  and  are,  in  no 
sense,  popular  schools,  and  can  not  contribute  materially  to  the 
general  education  of  the  country.  The  Government  has  been  com- 
pelled, by  the  pressure  of  the  necessity  of  educating  competent 
officers,  to  establish  a  number  of  schools  of  a  high  order  to  which 
foreign  teachers  have  been  called,  but  these  are  exceptional  institu- 


THE  DOOM  OF  TURKEY. 


553 


tions,  and  stand  out  in  striking  contrast  with  the  character  of  the 
national  schools.  !No  general  improvement  in  the  standard  of  edu- 
cation is  likely  to  be  made  while  the  mosques  remain  the  centers  of 
the  higher  instruction  and  the  national  schools  are  subordinated  to 
Mohammedanism ;  for  real  instruction  would  destroy  the  authority 
of  the  Church.  A  ministry  of  instruction  has  been  in  existence 
since  184T,  and  has  made  some  efforts  to  raise  the  standard  of  edu- 
cation, but  has  accomplished  nothing  worthy  of  remark  beyond 
securing  a  registry  of  scholars.  The  most  earnest  desires  of  the  en- 
lightened men,  who  have  sought  to  introduce  better  systems  into  the 
schools,  have  been  baffled  by  the  conservative  and  bigoted  prejudices 
of  men  from  whom,  judging  by  the  positions  they  held,  better  things 
might  have  been  expected.  Some  amusing  anecdotes,  illustrating 
this  fact,  are  given  in  the  book  "  Stamboul  and  Modern  Turkdom." 

The  Department  of  Instruction,  several  years  ago,  appointed  a 
commission  to  prepare  a  series  of  text-books  on  Ancient,  Mediaeval, 
and  Modern  History.  The  preparation  of  the  works  was  given  to  a 
Christian,  who,  in  due  time,  submitted  the  work  on  Ancient  History 
to  the  inspection  of  his  Mohammedan  fellow  commissioners.  It  was 
"rejected,  because  it  told  of  a  certain  Cyrus,  who  had  been  King  of 
Persia,  of  whom  the  Mohammedan  histories  made  no  mention. 
When  he  was  referred  to  the  mentions  of  Cyrus  made  in  the  Bible, 
and  existing  on  inscribed  monuments  standing  within  the  territory 
of  Turkey,  the  Mussulman  president  of  the  commission  declared  the 
Bible  records  had  been  falsified  by  the  Jews  and  Christians,  and  the 
monumental  inscriptions  were  an  invention,  and  he  would  have  none 
of  this  Cyrus.  The  History  has  not  since  been  heard  of.  At  another 
time  the  Sultan  ordered  a  translation  of  a  certain  historical  work 
made  for  the  use  of  the  schools.  The  Minister  of  Instruction 
objected  to  the  book,  when  it  was  submitted  to  him,  because  it 
failed  to  relate  that  Abraham  was  condemned  to  be  burned  by  Nim- 
rod,  as  was  related  in  some  of  the  Mohammedan  fables,  and,  because 
in  giving  the  story  of  the  building  of  Solomon's  temple,  it  omitted 
to  tell  that  the  temple  was  built  by  Genii  at  Solomon's  command. 
"I  think,'  said  the  Minister,  "that  such  a  book  is  not  fit  for  our 
schools,  and  that  we  had  better  use  the  '  Lives  of  the  Saints'  instead 
of  it."  The  book  was  printed,  because  the  Sultan  had  ordered  it, 
but  it  has  never  been  introduced  into  the  schools. 

The  office  of  a  court-astrologer  is  still  maintained  at  the  capital. 
The  present  incumbent  was,  till  the  middle  of  March,  1877,  Presi- 


554  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

deiit  of  the  Council  of  Instruction,  and  was  afterward  a  Senator 
It  is  his  business  to  calculate  the  lucky  hours  and  moments  for 
Court  festivals,  and  to  publish  an  almanac  every  year  with  general 
instructions  of  a  similar  character.  The  distinguished  astronomer,  Dr. 
Peters,  whose  more  recent  discoveries  have  reflected  enduring  honor 
on  American  science,  visited  Constantinople  in  1850,  with  recom- 
mendations from  A.  Yon  Humboldt  and  other  distinguished  scholars, 
but  was  dismissed,  it  is  said,  because  he  could  not  compete  with  this 
functionary.  A  disastrous  explosion  took  place  in  the  arsenal  on  the 
day  that  he  was  introduced  by  the  Prussian  Ambassador  to  the 
Grand  Vizier,  Reshid  Pasha.  "This  Prankish  astronomer,"  said 
the  Grand  Vizier,  "  either  knew  beforehand  that  this  event  would 
take  place,  and  in  that  case  he  is  a  great  villain ;  or  he  did  not  know 
it,  in  which  case  he  is  an  ignorant  fellow ;  we  can  not  have  anything 
to  do  with  him  anyhow."* 

Other  obstacles  are  offered  to  the  progress  of  modern  knowledge 
by  the  character  of  the  Turkish  written  language,  which  is  ill  adapted 
to  the  inculcation  of  new  ideas.  The  characters  are  syllabic,  each 
one  representing  combinations  of  consonanted  sounds,  without 
reference  to  the  vowels.  The  same  combination  of  characters  may* 
represent  several  words  of  widely  different  meanings,  which  can  not 
well  be  distinguished  without  knowledge  of  the  context,  or  some 
previous  general  knowledge  of  the  subject.  Such  a  system  is,  in  the 
nature  of  things,  useless  for  teaching  subjects  totally  foreign  to  the 
genius  of  the  people. 

While  the  Mohammedan  Turks  are  thus  without  education,  or  the 
means  of  acquiring  it,  the  situation  of  the  Christian  populations  is 
far  different.  Servia  has  established  an  efficient  system  of  schools 
according  to  the  modern  standard ;  Rumania  is  but  little  behind  it 
in  the  creation  of  educational  advantages ;  and  in  all  the  Turkish 
provinces  of  Europe  the  Christians  have  been  very  active,  and  have 
accomplished  wonderful  things  considering  the  disadvantages  under 
which  they  have  labored.  The  Greeks  have  been  particularly  ener- 
getic in  this  enterprise,  having  established  good  schools  even  before 
the  Greek  Revolution,  and  having  now  multiplied  them  in  every 
part  of  the  Empire,  where  they  are  numerous.  The  Catholic  Ar- 
menians, sending  their  young  men  to  European  institutions  to  be 
educated,  have  raised  themselves  to  a  rank  among  the  most  intelli- 


*  "  Stambul  und  das  Moderne  Tiirkenthum."    Leipsic,  1877. 


THE  DOOM  OF  TURKEY.  555 

gent  communities  of  the  Empire.  The  Gregorian  Armenians,  and 
the  Jews,  have  also  made  a  great  advance  within  the  last  ten  years. 
The  revival  of  education  among  the  Bulgarians  is  noticed  in  another 
place.  Numerous  schools,  high-schools  and  colleges,  quite  equal  in 
their  plans  and  methods  to  the  best  European  standards  for  similar 
schools,  are  maintained  by  both  Roman  Catholic  and  Protestant 
missionaries  in  Europe,  Asia  Minor,  and  Armenia.  All  of  these 
movements  are,  it  is  true,  for  the  advantage  of  Turkey,  but  it  is  the 
advantage  of  non-Mohammedan  Turkey  that  they  promote;  and 
just  in  the  measure  that  they  build  up  the  character  and  strengthen 
the  intelligence  of  this  part  of  the  people,  in  the  same  measure  do 
they  threaten  ruin  to  the  Mussulman  system. 

The  superiority  of  the  non-Mussulman  schools  has  not  escaped 
the  attention  of  the  more  intelligent  Turks.  The  Bassiret,  a  lead- 
ing newspaper  of  Constantinople,  published  an  article  on  the  subject 
in  1873,  which,  after  complimenting  the  Greeks  and  Armenians  on 
their  enterprise  in  maintaining  schools  and  the  quality  of  their  in- 
struction, cited  in  illustration  of  the  latter  that  the  pupils  of  one  of 
these  schools  could  readily  compute  problems  and  bank  accounts 
involving  millions  with  the  utmost  accuracy,  while  a  Mussulman 
tradesman  could  not  calculate  a  transaction  of  ten  piasters  without 
the  help  of  his  beans.  It  admitted  that  in  the  face  of  this  difference 
in  knowledge,  the  Turks  would  not  be  able  to  compete  with  the 
Greeks  and  Armenians,  and  proposed  as  a  remedy  for  such  a  con- 
tingency, that  the  Government  should  institute  an  inspection  of  the 
Greek  and  Armenian  schools,  in  order,  of  course,  though  the  pur- 
pose was  not  avowed,  to  reduce  them  to  the  level  of  the  Turkish 
schools. 

Polygamy  is  one  of  the  most  active  causes  for  Turkish  decline. 
It  is  not  peculiar  to  the  Turkish  people,  nor  even  to  Mohammedans, 
but  has  existed  among  the  Asiatic  peoples  from  the  earliest  period  of 
their  history.  Even  before  the  time  of  Mohammed,  it  had  become  so 
interwoven  with  the  national  and  social  life  of  many  of  those  na- 
tions as  to  have  become  one  of  the  central  principles  around  which 
their  institutions  were  formed.  Mohammed  could  not  have  abolished 
it  if  he  had  tried ;  he  could  hardly  have  controlled  it.  He  regulated 
it,  but  was  far  from  establishing  it.  It  was  only  a  coincidence  that 
the  nations  in  which  his  faith  took  root  were  polygamous  nations ; 
but  it  is  one  of  the  results  of  this  coincidence  that  the  most  con- 
spicuously polygamous  nations  of  the  present  are  the  Mohammedan 


556  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

ones.  Polygamy  and  the  vices  which  it  generates  will  leave  more 
or  less  disastrous  effects,  both  moral  and  physical,  upon  the  soundest 
and  best  organized  constitutions.  These  effects  will  be  less  manifest 
upon  an  active,  energetic  race,  whose  life  is  all  out  of  doors,  and 
who  are  engaged  in  constant  aggression,  as  were  the  Turks  of  old, 
because  they  are  neutralized  by  the  predominance  of  the  habits  and 
influences  which  go  to  build  up  manly  strength.  But  they  show 
themselves  immediately  among  a  people  who  have  settled  down  to 
sedentary  life,  and  have  thereby  fully  exposed  themselves  to  all 
enervating  and  destructive  influences;  and  with  such  people  they 
show  themselves  with  steadily-increasing  force.  While  the  nomadic 
Turks  and  the  Bedouins  are  still  hardy  and  aggressive,  their  lazier 
and  more  comfortable  neighbors  among  the  wealthier  classes  of 
Turkey  and  Persia  have  nearly  reached  the  end  of  their  manly  race. 
Polygamy  has  the  mark  of  barbarism  in  its  origin.  The  American 
political  catch-word,  which  describes  it  as  a  twin  relic  of  barbarism 
with  slavery,  is  full  of  truth.  Polygamy  is  a  real  symbol  of  slavery, 
for  wherever  it  prevails  in  the  East,  the  woman  is  bought,  and  may 
be  the  slave  of  the  man  until  he  raises  her  to  the  condition  of  wife- 
hood.  In  many  Mohammedan  countries,  as  in  Circassia  before  it 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Russians,  the  training  of  girls  was  regarded 
merely  as  preparing  them  for  the  market,  in  anticipation  of  the  day 
when  they  were  to  be  sought  by  some  rich  lord,  or  taken  to  some 
capital  to  be  delivered  to  the  highest  bidder.  The  whole  system  of 
the  harem  is  opposed  to  the  idea  of  a  spiritual  relation  between  man 
and  wife,  which  is  the  foundation  of  marriage  in  Western  countries, 
and  reduces  the  relation  to  a  sensual  one,  established  simply  for  the 
gratification  of  lust  and  the  propagation  of  offspring. 

Some  of  the  most  direct  evil  results  flow  from  this  view  of  the 
relation.  It  gives  prominence  to  the  play  of  the  animal  qualities, 
and  depresses,  in  a  corresponding  degree,  the  moral  and  aesthetic 
qualities.  With  blunted  spiritual  conceptions,  the  polygamist  gives 
himself  up  to  a  course  of  indulgences  which  exhaust  his  constitution. 
He  transmits  his  weakness  to  his  children,  who  also  inherit,  in  an 
aggravated  degree,  the  propensities  whose  cultivation  has  caused  it, 
and  thus  the  degradation  is  accelerated  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion until  the  race  is  exhausted  and  dies  out.  The  evil  is  intensified 
by  the  custom  of  early  marriages,  under  which  the  Turkish  youth 
are  often  permitted  to  begin  the  process  which  undermines  their 
constitutions  when  hardly  more  than  mere  children.  It  is  a  charac- 


THE  DOOM  OF  TURKEY,  557 

teristic  of  Turkish  history  that  few  of  the  great  families  endure  for 
more  than  a  few  generations,  but  that  they  have  to  be  replaced 
from  the  more  vigorous  ranks. 

The  moral  effects  of  polygamy  are  as  plain  and  direct  as  the 
physical.  The  man  does  not  know  how  to  bestow  an  exclusive 
love ;  the  woman  has  no  hope  of  receiving  such  love.  The  oppor- 
tunity for  the  culture  of  the  nobler  faculties,  which  is  one  of  the 
richest  gifts  of  Western  marriages,  is  hopelessly  lost  to  both.  Home 
life  there  is  none.  The  life  of  the  harem  is  idle  and  listless.  The 
wife  is  one  of  several  who  are  rivals,  and  whose  rivalry  leads  them 
all  to  nurse  the  less  noble  faculties  at  the  expense  of  the  nobler  ones, 
and  to  substitute  craft  and  tricks  for  true  affection  and  faithful 
wifeliness.  She  is  liable  at  any  time  to  be  supplanted  by  a  new 
favorite.  Divorce  is  easy,  accomplished  almost  with  a  word.  No 
inducement  is  offered  for  training  women  for  a  higher  life,  for  no 
opportunity  is  given  them  to  enter  such  a  life.  Hence  the  educa- 
tion of  women  is  not  thought  to  be  of  much  importance.  The 
mother  becomes  such  without  having  received  the  slightest  quali- 
fication for  training  her  children,  and  the  children  emerge  into 
youth  without  having  received  any  discipline  or  preparation  to 
adapt  them  to  a  manly  calling.  Thus  that  period  which  in  Europe 
is  regarded  as  most  precious,  and  is  employed  in  instilling  the  .prin- 
ciples in  which  the  future  conduct  is  to  be  based,  and  for  laying  the 
foundation  of  a  solid  education,  is  in  Turkey  spent  in  vacuity  or 
under  the  evil  influences  of  harem-attendants.  The  effects  of  polyg- 
amy reach  far  beyond  the  families  in  which  it  is  an  individual 
feature.  While  the  proportion  of  the  sexes  remains  even  approxi- 
mately equal,  unusual  marital  privileges  can  not  be  accorded  to  one 
man  without  reducing,  in  a  corresponding  degree,  the  privileges  of 
his  fellows.  Hence  it  must  always  be  that  a  large  part  of  the  male 
population  are  forever  deprived  of  the  hope  of  marriage ;  and  this 
part  is  likely  to  be  of  the  most  robust,  for  it  will  be  of  the  poorer 
people,  whose  ranks  have  been  least  subjected  to  the  debasing  in- 
fluences of  the  practice.  The  practice  of  importing  wives  from 
abroad  hardly  lessens  the  evil,  for  the  newly-bought  women  go  to 
swell  the  already  well-supplied  harems,  and  not  to  the  households 
of  the  enforced  bachelors.  A  steady  decrease  of  population  is 
directly  incurred  by  this  condition.  Since  a  monogamous  house- 
hold ordinarily  furnishes  the  State  with  four  children,  the  harem 
ought  to  afford  four  times  as  many  children  as  it  has  wives ;  but  no 


558  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

such  rule  prevails.  Generally,  the  larger  the  harem,  the  smaller, 
relatively,  is  the  number  of  the  children.  The  late  Sultan,  Abdul 
Medjid,  with  five  hundred  wives  and  concubines,  had  only  thirteen 
children,  and  his  brother,  with  half  as  many  in  his  harem,  had  five 
children. 

The  severe  jealousy  with  which  women  are  guarded  in  the  East, 
and  the  restrictions  which  are  imposed  on  them,  leading  to  the 
adoption  of  practices  which  are  regarded  by  civilized  nations  with 
abhorrence,  must  be  accredited  to  the  necessities  of  the  institution  of 
polygamy.  The  disabilities  which  it  imposes  extend  even  to  the 
Christian  women  of  Asiatic  Turkey,  who  are  compelled,  by  the  force 
of  custom  and  Mohammedan  ideas,  to  submit  to  regulations  which  are 
foreign  to  the  teachings  of  their  faith. 

The  damaging  effects  of  polygamy  upon  the  constitution  are  direct- 
ly exemplified  in  the  feebleness  and  mortality  of  the  Turkish  children. 
The  proportion  of  children  who  are  diseased  from  their  birth  is  ex- 
traordinarily large;  extraordinarily  large  also  is  the  proportion  of 
early  deaths.  Sixty  per  cent,  of  the  children  in  the  Turkish  districts 
die  before  they  are  five  years  old.  The  practices  which  operate  to 
cause  the  death  of  children  or  to  prevent  their  birth  prevail  in  Turk- 
ish families  to  an  alarming  extent.  The  Koran  does  not  prohibit 
abortion,  and  the  Turkish  laws  which  aim  to  prevent  it,  are  ineffect- 
ive, partly  on  account  of  their  indefiniteness,  partly  through  the 
complicity  of  the  officers  upon  whom  their  execution  depends  in  the 
offense,  but  most  of  all  by  reason  of  the  privileges  of  the  harem, 
which  make  an  investigation  substantially  impossible.  The  au- 
thor of  "  Stamboul  and  Modern  Turkdom  "  says  that  "  what  appears 
in  Christian  societies  only  as  an  isolated  offense,  is  in  Islam  a  social 
custom,  and  abortion  has  assumed,  among  the  Turkish  population, 
such  colossal  proportions  that  the  Government,  alarmed  at  the  deso- 
lating consequences  of  the  evil,  has  for  many  years  endeavored  in 
vain  to  find  an  efficient  remedy  for  it."  The  same  author  quotes 
an  estimate  from  a  Turkish  newspaper,  to  the  effect  that  about  four 
thousand  cases  of  abortion  occur  in  Constantinople  every  year,  in 
which  the  result  is  fatal  to  ninety-five  per  cent,  of  the  children  and 
two-thirds  of  the  mothers. 

The  Koran  limited  the  number  of  a  Mussulman's  wives  to  four, 
and  affixed  other  regulations  to  marriage  which  still  remain  in  the 
text,  but  have  been  so  modified  by  interpretations  and  new  condi- 
tions as  to  be  of  little  effect.  Practically,  the  number  of  a  Moslem's 


THE  DOOM  OF  TURKEY.  559 

wives  and  concubines  is  limited  by  his  ability  to  support  them. 
Wealthy  Turks  have  as  many  as  they  want,  while  the  poorer  ones 
have  to  be  contented  with  one  apiece,  or  none.  The  degree  of  ener- 
vation and  demoralization  corresponds  very  closely  with  the  size  of 
the  harem.  The  Turks  of  the  wealthy  classes  are  thoroughly  indolent 
and  sensual,  while  those  of  the  lower  classes  are  more  sober  and  ro- 
bust. The  poorer  Turks  have  saved  the  Ottoman  race  from  the  ex- 
haustion with  which  it  has  long  been  threatened.  As  the  higher 
families  have  died  out,  their  places  have  been  filled  from  the  ranks. 
Every  position  and  function  in  the  Empire  short  of  the  Sultanate 
has  been  filled  repeatedly  by  men  of  the  masses,  who  have  brought 
to  the  offices  the  virility  which  higher-bom  officers  could  not  sup- 
ply. The  Imperial  family,  whose  polygamy  has  been  most  excessive, 
has  nearly  run  out,  so  that  it  is  widely  recognized  that  there  is  not  a 
person  of  ordinary  capacity  among  the  heirs  to  the  throne.  Mah- 
moud  II.  was  the  last  of  the  Sultans  who  was  a  man  of  respectable 
ability,  and  it  has  been  asserted,  with  much  show  of  truth,  that  the 
removal  of  the  effete  reigning  family  will  be  an  essential  condition 
precedent  to  the  taking  of  any  measures  to  be  effective  for  the  regen- 
eration of  the  Turkish  State. 

Another  cause  which  is  ever  active  to  weaken  the  hold  of  the  ruling 
race  in  Turkey,  is  the  conscription  for  the  army,  which  has  been  con- 
fined to  the  Mohammedan  part  of  the  population.  It  removes  the  Turk- 
ish youth  at  the  most  vigorous  period  of  their  life,  while  it  leaves  the 
Christians  secure  in  their  homes,  to  follow  their  ordinary  callings  and 
raise  their  families.  It  is  a  cause  which  in  the  manner  of  its  opera- 
tion is  peculiar  to  Turkey,  for  in  all  other  countries  the  armies  are 
recruited  from  the  whole  population ;  while  here,  the  very  wars 
which  the  nation  is  obliged  to  wage  for  its  existence,  contribute  the 
more  rapidly  to  its  destruction  by  giving  the  hostile  elements  within 
its  own  borders  unusual  opportunities  to  increase  at  the  expense  of 
its  vital  forces.  It  is  only  within  a  h'ttle  more  than  the  last  year 
that  the  Government  has  been  obliged  to  supply  a  waste  that  had 
become  otherwise  irreparable,  to  make  provision  for  the  general  en- 
listment of  Christians  in  its  armies. 

The  total  want  of  knowledge  of  sanitary  science,  and  the  conse- 
quent lack  of  intelligent  sanitary  regulations,  must  be  counted  among 
the  notable  factors  that  contribute  to  the  depletion  of  the  country. 
Intelligent  physicians  are  scarce ;  the  people  know  nothing  of  the 
laws  of  health ;  and  the  best  sanitary  regulations,  whenever  they  are 


560  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

attempted,  are  easily  evaded  through  the  corruptibility  of  the  officers. 
The  country  is  consequently  exposed,  almost  without  defense,  to  the 
ravages  of  all  forms  of  disease,  and  experience  has  taught  often,  that 
it  is  impossible  to  stay  the  progress  of  an  epidemic  when  it  has  been 
introduced  into  a  Turkish  city,  till  it  has  run  its  course.  The  Em- 
pire has  been  repeatedly  devastated  by  plague  and  cholera,  and  is  no 
better  defended  against  them  now  than  it  was  in  the  most  primitive 
times. 

The  testimonies  to  the  steady  decline  of  the  Turkish  population 
are  so  numerous  that  the  repetition  of  them  would  be  tedious.  The 
fact  is  obvious  and  generally  admitted.  The  author  of  the  book 
"  Stamboul  and  Modern  Turkdom  "  says  that  the  fact  that  the  popu- 
lation is  diminishing  at  an  increasing  rate,  can  not  be  denied,  although 
it  has  been  contradicted.  The  steady  recession  of  the  Ottoman  ele- 
ment before  the  Greeks  and  Bulgarians  in  Rumelia,  is  said  to  be  in- 
contestible.  The  officers  of  the  railroads  have  noticed  that  the  Turk- 
ish towns  are  declining,  and  Bulgarians  are  taking  the  place  of  the 
former  Moslem  inhabitants.  The  ruined  minarets  of  deserted 
mosques  in  such  towns  as  Nissa,  Widin,  Lorn,  Florentine,  Rustchuk, 
and  others,  are  pointed  to  as  evidence  that  the  Mohammedan  popula- 
tion is  dying  out ;  and  although  there  is  as  yet  no  important  place  in 
Old  Servia,  Bosnia,  and  Bulgaria,  in  which  Islam  is  not  represented  by 
at  least  a  few  adherents,  the  number  of  such  is  constantly  becoming 
less.*  While  the  Turkish  households  in  these  provinces  seldom  con- 
tain more  than  two  children  each,  Greek  and  Slavic  families  often 
have  from  five  to  ten  children.  The  Bassiret,  the  organ  of  the  Old 
Turkish  party  in  Constantinople,  said,  in  April,  1875,  in  an  article 
on  this  subject :  "  The  decrease  of  the  population  is  visible,  and  has 
already  reached  such  proportions  that  not  only  the  defensive  strength 
and  taxable  resources  of  the  country,  but  also  the  credit  of  the  State 
abroad,  yes,  even  its  existence,  is  threatened." 

The  Mussulmans  recede  before  the  non-Mussulmans  wherever  the 
two  come  in  contact.  All  of  the  enterprise,  all  of  the  progressive 
force  that  exist  in  the  Empire  are  the  results  of  Christian  or 
Jewish  energy.  Even  before  the  Greek  Revolution,  the  commercial 
and  naval  fleets  of  Turkey  were  manned  by  Greeks  and  commanded 
by  Greek  officers.  The  maritime  commerce  of  the  East  is  still  con- 
trolled by  Greeks,  and  all  the  important  trade  of  the  commercial 

*  Die  heiitige  Turkti,  (The  Turkey  of  To-day).  By  Fr.  Von  Hellwald  and  L.  C.  Beck, 
Leipzig. 


THE  DOOM  OF  TURKEY.  561 

ports  is  managed  by  Greek  and  Armenian  merchants.  The  ex- 
perience of  the  French  traveler,  Choisy,  who  went  to  Constantino- 
ple from  Trieste  in  a  ship  of  Turkish  nationality,  but  manned  by 
Greek  and  Dalmatian  sailors,  is  the  rule  at  most  Turkish  ports. 
The  Christian  populations  are  most  numerous  all  along  the  sea- 
coasts,  wherever  any  enterprise  exists  or  any  progress  is  visible. 
This  is  most  conspicuously  true  of  the  towns  of  the  Macedonian  and 
Thracian  coasts,  but  the  non-Musulmans  are  also  a  power  at 
Alexandria  and  even  at  Constantinople,  while  Smyrna  and  Bey  rut 
have  come  largely  under  foreign  influences,  and  several  recent 
writers  speak  of  the  whole  west  coast  of  Asia  Minor  as  steadily 
undergoing  a  Grecianizing  process.  In  Napoleon  Bonaparte's  time 
the  Sultan  Mahmoud  II.,  when  asked  to  make  an  unacceptable  peace 
with  Russia,  boasted  that  Rumelia  alone  could  furnish  him  enough 
troops  with  which  to  give  an  answer  to  seven  kings.  It  is  doubtful 
if  Rumelia  now,  under  the  depopulation  of  the  Turkish  race  and 
the  growth  of  European  strength  could  afford  enough  troops  to  put 
down  a  determined  insurrection  of  its  own  Greeks  and  Bulgarians. 
The  city  of  Brussa,  the  very  home  of  the  Turks,  the  original  capital 
of  the  nation,  the  place  to  which  the  Sultan  will  flee  if  he  is  ever 
driven  from  Constantinople,  is,  according  to  M.  Choisy,  only  half 
Turkish.  Its  industries,  its  spinning  establishments  and  looms, 
which  are  quite  important,  "  are  in  the  hands  of  Europeans,  chiefly 
English."  Throughout  the  Empire,  all  those  things  which  point  to 
progress,  which  give  strength,  which  promise  a  future,  are  in  the 
hands  of  races  opposed  to  Islam,  while  the  Moslems  possess  the 
traits  and  influences  which  lead, to  decay  and  ultimate  extinction. 

Even  the  chief  offices  of  the  Empire  are  no  longer  controlled  by 
Turks.  Says  the  author  of  "  Stamboul  and  Modern  Turkdom " : 
"  While  the  level  of  the  intellectual  cultivation  of  the  Turks  was 
sinking  deeper  from  year  to  year,  the  force  necessary  for  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  State  was  likewise  in  constant  depreciation,  so 
that  the  Government  had  to  avail  itself  of  European  vigor,  and  re- 
cruit the  personality  of  its  offices  from  among  the  Christian  popula- 
tions ;  and  thus  the  number  of  Christian  officers  has  increased  every 
year  since  Sultan  Abdul  Medjid."  The  design  was  at  first  to  em- 
ploy such  persons  in  routine  work,  without  giving  them  positions-  of 
responsibility  and  influence  ;  but  this  has  been  abandoned  under  the 
pressure  of  necessity.  Now,  there  are  a  large  number  of  Christian 
officers  employed  in  every  ministry ;  and  in  some  bureau,  as  in 
30 


562  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

those  of  Customs  and  Foreign  Affairs,  the  Christians  have  numerically 
half  the  appointments,  and  an  overwhelming  majority  of  those 
which  require  capacity.  In  all  the  provinces  where  the  Christians 
form  a  considerable  fraction  of  the  population,  are  Christian  higher 
officers.  Within  ten  years  an  Armenian  has  been  Minister  of 
Public  Works  ;  in  1S77  an  Armenian  was  Minister  of  Trade  ;  Greek 
under-secretaries  were  employed  in  the  Ministries  of  Foreign  Affairs 
and  Instruction,  an  Armenian  in  the  Ministry  of  Justice  ;  the  under- 
Governors  in  Crete  and  Epirus,  and  the  Governor-General  of  the 
Archipelago,  were  Greeks ;  and  the  Governors  of  the  Lebanon  since 
1860  have  been  Catholics.  The  same  work  from  which  we  have  just 
quoted  proceeds,  in  illustration  of  the  growing  sterility  of  the 
Turkish  official  aristocracy,  to  show  how,  with  only  a  few  excep- 
tions, those  persons  in  high  positions  who  have  distinguished  them- 
selves by  their  intelligence,  talents,  and  capacity,  are  not  of  the 
"  Stamboul  race,"  as  follows  :  "  The  father  of  Ahmed  Vefik  Pasha 
•was  a  Jew  converted  to  Islam,  his  mother  a  Greek  ;  Grand  Yizier 
Edhem  Pasha  is  a  Greek,  who  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Turks  when 
a  boy,  at  the  catastrophe  of  Scio  in  1822  ;  Subhi  Pasha  is  of  Morean 
or  Peloponnessian  stock,  and  is  the  son  of  a  Greek  woman  ;  Miinif 
Effendi,  Minister  of  Instruction,  is  an  Arab  from  Aintab  ;  the  de- 
ceased Grand  Yizier,  Meheraed  Pasha,  was  of  Cypriote  descent ; 
the  ex-Grand  Vizier,  Mehemed  Rushdi  Pasha,  was  from  Sinope ; 
Midhat  Pasha,  from  Widin  ;  the  family  of  the  Khedive  of  Egypt 
from  Kavala  in  Macedonia. 

A  book  has  been  published  in  Constantinople  since  the  beginning 
of  the  present  year,  called  "  The  Cause  of  the  Misfortunes,"*  which 
gives,  from  a  Turkish  point  of  view,  a  sad  picture  of  the  condition 
of  the  Empire  and  its  decay  within  the  last  twenty  years.  The  au- 
thor, Ahmed  Midhat  Effendi,  is  attached  to  the  Young  Turkish 
party.  He  was  too  young  at  the  time  the  leaders  of  the  party  were 
sent  into  exile  in  1867,  to  receive  the  attention  of  the  Government, 
but  when  Midhat  Pasha  succeeded  Mahmoud  Nedim  Pasha  as  Grand 
Yizier,  in  1872,  he  started  a  paper,  the  first  number  of  which  con- 
tained an  article  prescribing  what  the  new  Grand  Yizier  ought  to  do 
to  retrieve  the  errors  of  his  predecessor,  which  was  expressed  in  so 
pointed  a  style  that  the  journal  was  promptly  suppressed.  He  is 


*  UesB-i  Inkylab  ;  first  part ;  from  the  Crimean  war  to  the  accession  of  Sultan  Abdul 
Hamid  II.    By  Ahmed  Midhat  Effendi ;  Constantinople,  1295— A.D.  1878. 


THE  DOOM  OF  TURKEY.  563 

now  principal  editor  of  the  Tdkwirn-i  WaTcaje,  or  State  Gazette. 
He  regards  the  rule  of  Abdul  Aziz  as  having  been  extremely  disas- 
trous to  Turkey,  and  the  period  as  having  been  one  of  decided  de- 
cline, and  makes  some  startling  exposures  of  the  demoralization 
which  prevailed  in  different  departments  of  the  public  service.  The 
Sultan  himself  was,  in  temperament  and  in  regard  to  all  points  of 
ceremonial,  a  typical  Oriental  despot,  a  representative  of  a  class  of 
characters  which  it  was  thought  had  disappeared  under  the  contact 
of  European  influences,  even  from  Turkey.  He  allowed  no  relaxa- 
tion in  his  presence  or  as  toward  him  of  the  honors  amounting  to  de- 
votion, which  were  due  to  him  as  Caliph  of  Islam  and  Padishah  of  the 
Ottoman  Empire.  Every  one  who  approached  him  was  required  to 
bow  to  the  ground  forty  times ;  no  one  was  permitted  to  look  him  in 
the  face.  He  would  not  allow  any  one  but  himself  to  be  called  Aziz ; 
and  if  he  had  to  sign  the  appointment  or  removal  of  an  officer  who 
was  named  Aziz,  he  would  have  the  name  changed  in  the  decree  to 
Izzet  or  something  else.  All  documents,  even  those  which  related 
to  the  most  insignificant  affairs,  must  be  profuse  in  expression  of 
praises  of  him,  and  the  invocation  of  blessings  upon  him,  otherwise 
they  would  receive  no  attention.  An  example  of  the  quality  of  the 
administration  of  affairs  during  this  period  is  given  in  the  recital  of 
the  fact  that  when  the  bonds  for  the  consolidated  loan  were  printed 
in  Paris,  a  considerable  number  of  them  were  issued  bearing  dupli- 
cates of  the  same  number.  The  matter  could  not  be  concealed,  and 
the  officers  charged  with  the  printing  were  arrested.  No  further 
steps  were  taken  to  punish  them,  and  the  only  inconvenience  they 
ever  suffered  was  that  they  were  subjected  to  a  short  sequestration 
in  their  houses. 

The  futility  of  any  hopes  that  may  be  entertained  that  the  regen- 
eration of  the  Turks  can  be  accomplished  through  any  efforts  of 
their  own,  is  exemplified  by  the  narrow-minded  views  and  the  big- 
oted partisanship  of  this  work,  which,  written  by  one  of  the  most 
active  members  of  the  party  of  reform  to  ascertain  and  define  the 
causes  of  the  evils  with  which  the  Empire  is  afflicted,  might  be  ex- 
pected to  embody  their  most  advanced  views  respecting  the  future 
of  their  nation.  Yet  the  work,  while  it  is  full  of  high-sounding 
phrases  respecting  the  freedom  and  equality  of  all  the  people,  with- 
out distinction  of  faith,  abounds  also  in  expressions  and  peculiarities 
of  phraseology  which  show  that  110  substantial  significance  is  intended 
by  these  beautiful  words,  and  that  the  Young  Turks  still  intend  to 


564  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

look  upon  their  Christian  fellow-citizens  as  blemishes  on  an  otherwise 
beautiful  body,  and  to  give  them  nothing  real  if  they  can  help  it. 
It  lauds  polygamy  as  the  most  glorious  privilege  of  Islam,  and  while 
it  condemns  the  trade  in  negro  slaves,  it  upholds  the  traffic  in  white 
girls  for  Moslem  harerns  as  one  of  the  precious  treasures  and  a  pal- 
ladium of  the  Empire.  If  this  is  the  best  programme  that  the  men 
of  new  ideas  have  to  propose  for  their  country,  how  little  have  we  to 
expect  from  those  who  still  avow  their  attachment  to  all  the  old  ways. 
The  best  examples  from  which  to  judge  the  condition  and  char- 
acter of  the  Ottomans  may  be  drawn  from  Asia  Minor,  where  they 
still  live  in  their  purity,  and  are  isolated  from  foreign  contact. 
There  they  have  not  been  contaminated  by  modern  ideas,  have  not 
been  affected  in  any  way  by  the  pressure  and  competition  of  Euro- 
peans, which  has  forced  an  unnatural  and  spasmodic  semblance  of 
activity  upon  the  Turks  at  Constantinople.  Whatever  traits  they 
may  show  in  that  country  are  the  fruits  of  their  own  nature  and  the 
workings  of  their  system,  which  have  been  going  on  for  six  hundred 
years  without  being  hastened  or  hindered  by  any  external  influences. 
Several  accounts  have  been  recently  given  of  this  region  by  travel- 
ers and  residents,  all  of  which  corroborate  each  other.  Among 
them  is  a  very  interesting  picture  by  a  French  engineer,  M.  Auguste 
Choisy,  who  traveled  through  Asia  Minor  to  study  the  ruins  with 
which  it  is  dotted,  contained  in  his  book  "  L'Asie  Minenre  et  les 
Turks  en  1875  "  (Asia  Minor  and  the  Turks  in  1875).  We  have 
every  reason  to  consider  his  observations  impartial,  for  his  errand 
had  no  reference  to  politics  or  religion,  and  the  French,  not  hav- 
ing for  many  years  taken  any  active  part  in  the  discussions  of  the 
Eastern  Question,  are  not  warped  by  the  partisan  prepossessions 
which  infect  the  views  of  the  English,  Germans,  and  Russians. 
His  account  is  a  sad  one  of  ruin,  desolation,  indolence,  thriftless- 
ness,  and  poverty.  The  country,  which  was  formerly  one  of  the 
most  prosperous  and  flourishing  in  the  world,  is  wholly  destitute  ol 
roads  ;  trade  hardly  exists,  and  what  little  there  is,  is  prosecuted  by 
barter  ;  and  the  people  are  given  up  to  lassitude  and  indifference, 
try  to  mend  nothing,  and  accept  misfortune,  decay,  and  ruin  as 
part  of  the  natural  course  of  events  which  it  is  useless  to  oppose. 
The  evidences  of  a  diminishing  population  prevail  widely.  Where 
a  few  years  ago  were  prosperous  cities,  are  now  to  be  seen  only 
clusters  of  miserable  huts ;  offices  are  venal,  the  administration  of 
justice  is  corrupt.  An  important  lawsuit  was  the  topic  of  conver- 


THE  DOOM  OF  TURKEY.  565 

sation  at  one  of  the  khans,  or  inns,  where  the  traveler  stopped,  and 
the  drift  of  the  inquiries  was  as  to  which  of  the  parties  would  be 
able  to  give  the  most  bakshish.  "  It  is  a  business  to  be  a  witness, 
a  speculation  to  be  a  judge/'  The  people  view  such  spoliations  as 
a  matter  of  course,  and  give  their  bakshish  without  complaining. 
In  a  district  that  was  infested  with  robbers,  to  M.  Choisy's  inquiry 
why  the  people  did  not  call  for  military  assistance,  the  answer  was 
returned  that  it  was  enough  for  them  to  have  the  robbers  to  deal  with 
without  being  also  exposed  to  plunder  by  the  soldiery.  At  another 
place  the  people  were  suffering  from  a  scarcity  of  fuel,  while  only  a 
few  miles  away  wood  was  abundant.  This  would  have  been  reme- 
died in  any  country  enjoying  respectable  facilities  for  trade  and 
moderately  passable  roads,  but  here — and  the  same  is  the  case  in 
nearly  every  part  of  the  Turkish  Empire — every  mountain  ridge 
forms  an  impassable  barrier,  on  one  side  of  which  famine  may  pre- 
vail, with  no  means  of  relieving  it  out  of  the  abundance  which  may 
be  existing  on  the  other  side.  The  Turks  are  characterized  by  this 
author  as  thoroughly  indifferent  beings,  who  vegetate  from  day  to 
day  in  perfect  carelessness,  bring  all  manner  of  evil  upon  them- 
selves by  their  negligence,  and  then  when  the  culmination  of  the 
misfortunes  they  have  induced  comes  upon  them,  will  exclaim,  "  It 
is  the  will  of  Allah,  so  it  is  written."  They  comprehend  nothing 
of  the  thirst  for  knowledge,  the  spirit  of  progress,  the  struggles  for 
improvement  characteristic  of  the  "Western  people,  and  have  no 
appreciation  of  the  value  of  time,  but  will  delay  and  dally,  though 
an  emergency  of  life  may  be  pending.  They  may  be  stirred  up  to 
exertions,  and  made  to  work  with  great  activity  and  pains  for  a 
short  time,  but  such  spells  are  spasmodic  witji  them  and  anomalous, 
and  are  soon  over,  when  they  subside  into  their  former  indolence. 
They  are  ready  to  make  promises,  and  even  to  plan  enterprises,  but 
their  promises  go  unfulfilled  and  their  enterprises  are  never  carried 
out,  because  their  normal  apathy  overcomes  them  again  before  any- 
thing is  done. 

Another  picture,  quite  similar  in  its  outlines,  is  given  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Edward  Rigg,  a  well-known  missionary  of  the  American  Board 
at  Sivas,  in  Asia  Minor,  in  an  article  upon  this  especial  subject, 
which  he  contributed  to  the  Presbyterian  Quarterly  and  Prince- 
ton Review  for  July,  1876.  No  foreigner  probably  has  had  a  better 
opportunity  to  make  himself  acquainted  with  the  internal  condition 
of  this  part  of  the  Empire,  for  Dr.  Rigg  has  lived  at  Sivas  for  many 


566  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

years,  engaged  in  an  occupation  which  brings  him  into  friendly  con- 
tact with  all  classes  of  the  people.  He  describes,  first,  the  material 
interests  of  the  country  as  in  a  state  of  decay.  This  was  illustrated 
in  fact  by  the  absolute  prostration  of  that  part  of  the  land  which 
had  been  recently  visited  by  famine  at  the  time  his  article  was  writ- 
ten, and  which  the  mismanagement  of  the  official  administration 
rather  aggravated  than  remedied.  Trade,  he  says,  is  prostrate. 
Every  one  is  in  debt,  so  universally  and  so  much,  that  it  has  become, 
in  a  measure,  the  habit  to  regard  debt  as  a  natural  condition.  The 
obligations  bearing  twelve  per  cent,  interest,  most  of  the  people 
stagger  for  life  under  the  oppressive  burden,  have  no  hope  of  re- 
lieving themselves  from  it,  and  generally  never  think  of  trying  to 
do  so.  The  system  of  fixed  prices  is  unknown  outside  of  the  capi- 
tal. An  absolute  want  of  confidence  prevails  in  all  business  trans- 
actions. Deceit  and  falsehood  are  current  everywhere  to  such  an 
extent  that  every  one  is  a  habitual  liar ;  artfulness  is  taught  even  in 
the  family,  and  the  detection  of  a  falsehood  involves  only  the  shame  of 
having  managed  so  awkwardly  as  to  be  found  out.  Nothing  is  ever 
committed  to  writing  if  it  can  possibly  be  avoided,  and  ignorance  of 
the  first  principles  of  mercantile  science  characterizes  the  entire 
people. 

Indolence  and  unskillfulness  mark  all  agricultural  and  industrial 
operations.  The  old  crooked  stick  is  still  used  to  stir  the  ground 
instead  of  the  plow ;  threshing-machines  have  been  introduced,  but 
find  no  favor,  the  people  preferring  to  follow  the  old  way  of  tread- 
ing out  the  grain  with  oxen,  even  though  a  better  way  may  be 
within  their  reach.  The  crops  are  still  confined  to  the  one  or  two 
kinds  of  grain  that  have  been  cultivated  from  time  immemorial, 
and  farmers  limit  their  tillage  to  the  fields  their  fathers  dug  ;  while 
the  climate  and  soil  would  permit  the  addition  of  a  great  variety  of 
productions  to  the  crops,  and  rich  fields  are  within  the  reach  of  al- 
most every  one,  which  he  could  easily  add  to  his  cultivated  estate  and 
till,  if  he  would.  While  mineral  resources  of  unknown  extent  and 
variety  exist,  no  effort  is  made  to  develop  them.  Iron  is  brought 
from  Europe  at  great  expense  for  transportation,  to  be  worked  up 
in  a  blacksmith-shop  which  may  be  standing  right  over  an  iron  mine. 
A  fine  mine  of  copper  exists  at  Harpoot,  from  which  the  ore  is 
hauled  two  hundred  miles  to  Forcat  to  be  smelted,  because  the  fur- 
nace happens  to  be  there,  and  no  one  has  thought  to  put  up  a  furnace 
at  Harpoot,  although  no  reason  exists  why  it  should  not  be  done. 


THE  DOOM  OF  TURKEY.  567 

This  inertness  among  the  people  is  promoted  by  the  incapacity 
and  weakness  of  the  Government.  The  reforms  which  the  Sultans 
have  promised  seem  not  to  have  reached  Asia  Minor  at  all,  and  the 
attempts  of  the  Government  at  reform  and  retrenchment,  says  Dr. 
Rigg,  "  would  be  ludicrous  in  the  extreme  were  it  not  for  the  mel- 
ancholy light  which  they  cast  on  the  threatening  chasm,  on  whose 
brink  the  country  stands."  The  most  hopeless  weakness  and  cor- 
ruption are  shown  in  the  local  and  provincial  governments.  Justice 
is  never  administered  simply  for  justice's  sake.  "  It  is  impossible  to 
convey  to  the  mind  of  any  one  who  has  not  actually  seen  it,  any  idea 
of  the  utter  prostitution  of  the  very  name  of  government  in  the  pro- 
vincial towns,  or  the  bold  effrontery  with  which  the  highest  officers 
will  shift  their  ground  from  one  untenable  falsehood  to  another  in 
dodging  the  performance  of  the  plainest  duties."  The  incapacity  of 
the  officers  was  strikingly  exemplified  in  the  case  of  the  famine  al- 
ready referred  to.  At  first  the  existence  of  famine  was  denied,  in 
the  face  of  the  multitudes  that  were  perishing ;  then,  when  denial 
could  no  longer  avail,  the  time  was  spent  in  making  out  a  formal 
statement  of  the  case,  and  haggling  about  the  manner  in  which  the 
aid  given  should  be  distributed.  "When  aid  was  at  last  sent  to  the 
country  from  foreign  lands,  those  who  sent  and  distributed  it,  in- 
stead of  being  thanked,  were  charged  with  bad  motives  and  called 
hard  names  by  the  jealous  officials.  Even  the  mixed  tribunals  of 
Mohammedans  and  Christians  which  the  Government  has  introduced, 
afford  no  practical  relief  from  misgovernment,  for  even  the  Chris- 
tian members  of  them  "  are,  almost  without  exception,  induced  by 
cupidity,  fear,  lack  of  self-respect,  and  general  unfitness  for  self- 
government,  to  retain  their  seats  and  salaries  by  yielding  passive 
assent  to  all  the  machinations  of  their  Turkish  associates,  and  with 
closed  eyes  and  placid  countenances,  affix  their  seals  to  all  papers 
offered  them." 

The  contemplation  of  social  and  religious  conditions  yields  a  simi- 
lar disheartening  result.  "Habits  transmitted  from  a  nomadic, 
tent-dwelling  ancestry,  cause  the  people  to  dwell  huddled  together 
in  narrow  quarters,  where  filth,  disease,  and  vice  grow  uncontrol- 
lable. Poverty  and  ignorance  so  rivet  the  chains  of  those  habits,, 
that  even  improved  circumstances  in  these  respects  fail  to  correct 
them.  The  present  age  undoubtedly  sees  a  wonderful  waking  up- 
and  reaching  forth  toward  education ;  but  even  this  is  only  a  smalll 
movement  as  compared  with  the  mass  of  the  people." 


568  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Dr.  Rigg  ascribes  the  origin  of  all  those  evils  to  the  creed  of 
Mohammed,  which  has  demoralized  even  the  Christians  of  the 
country  by  teaching  them  to  lie  and  cheat  under  the  guise  of  right- 
eously evading  oppression  and  tyranny.  It  is,  he  says,  the  source  of 
every  woe,  which  palsies  every  effort  at  reform  throughout  the 
Empire,  and  forbids  the  hope  of  Turkey  ever  taking  its  stand 
among  the  civilized  nations. 

These  accounts  are  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of  other  travelers 
who  have  recently  visi-ted  Turkey.  The  German  Baron  Yon 
Schweiger-Lerchenfeld,  in  his  book,  "Unter  dem  Halbmonde" 
(Under  the  Crescent),  published  in  1876,  which  embodies  the 
results  of  his  personal  observations  in  many  provinces,  describes 
the  condition  of  affairs  everywhere  prevailing  as  giving  testimony 
of  "frightful  certainty"  of  the  rapid  decay  of  the  Empire,  of 
general  stagnation,  of  the  total  demoralization  of  the  Government 
and  all  of  its  organs,  of  the  absolute  unfitness  of  the  ruling  race. 
Mr.  James  Bryce,  who  has  recently  published  an  account  of  his 
travels  through  Causasia  to  Mount  Ararat,  and  his  return  by  way 
of  Poti,  on  the  Black  Sea,  and  steamer,  says  of  the  Turkish  Pontic 
coasts* :  "  There  is  hardly  a  sail  on  the  sea,  hardly  a  village  on  the 
shores,  hardly  a  road  by  which  commerce  can  pass  into  the  interior. 
You  ask  the  cause,  and  receive  from  every  one  the  same  answer : 
misgovernment,  or,  rather,  no  government;  the  existence  of  a 
power  which  does  nothing  for  its  subjects,  but  stands  in  the 
way  when  there  is  a  chance  of  their  doing  something  for  them- 
selves." 

Capt.  Burnaby,  the  author  of  that  popular  book,  "A  Eide  to 
Khiva,''  and  no  friend  to  the  Russians,  has  lately  traveled  through 
Asiatic  Turkey,  and  published  an  account  of  his  observations  in  a 
book  entitled  "A  Ride  Through  Asia  Minor."  In  this  work,  he 
says  that  the  vast  resources  of  the  country  are  almost  entirely 
neglected.  There  are  mines,  and  no  one  works  them ;  there  are 
soils  where  almost  every  product  wanted  by  civilized  man  might 
be  grown  in  abundance,  but  nobody  cultivates  them.  There  are 
no  means  of  communication  between  place  and  place.  The  taxa- 
tion is  very  heavy ;  the  Courts  of  law,  if  not  closed  to  the  Chris- 
tians, are  yet  of  little  protection  to  them ;  the  Government  does 
little  or  nothing  for  the  people,  and  what  may  be  squeezed  out  of 


*  Transcaucasia  and  Ararat.   London,  1877. 


THE  DOOM  OF  TURKEY.  569 

the  provinces  is  sent  to  Constantinople ;  but  the  Government  is  not 
oppressively  tyrannical. 

The  attachment  of  the  African  dependencies  to  Turkey  has  been 
weakened,  till  it  is  now  only  of  the  most  slender  character. 
Formerly,  the  direct  rule  of  the  Empire  extended  over  the  whole 
northern  coast  of  Africa,  except  the  States  of  Fez  and  Morocco ; 
now,  Algiers  has  become  a  French  province,  Egypt  and  Tunis  have 
cast  off  all  but  a  nominal  allegiance,  and  the  only  parts  of  the  once 
extensive  Turkish  dominions  which  remain  wholly  loyal  are  Fezzan 
and  Tripoli.  Egypt,  the  most  important  dependency  of  the  whole 
Empire,  has  been  almost  completely  withdrawn,  except  in  name, 
from  Turkish  dominion,  and  is  at  present  halting  between  inde- 
pendence and  subjection  to  British  influences.  Twice,  during  the 
present  century,  the  integrity — almost  the  existence — of  the  Empire 
was  threatened  by  the  rebellion  of  the  Yiceroy,  Mehemet  Ali.  The 
present  Yiceroy  has  been  able  to  gain  from  the  Sultan  the  title  of 
Khedive,  or  hereditary  Prince,  and  has,  by  a  special  decree  from 
the  Porte,  had  the  order  of  succession  changed  in  favor  of  his  eldest 
son,  as  against  the  claims  of  his  brother,  who  is  the  regular  heir 
under  the  Mohammedan  law.  He  is  ambitious  for  independence, 
and  has  pursued  a  policy  looking  toward  it  during  his  whole  reign. 
While  he  still  continues  to  pay  a  tribute  to  the  Porte,  and  has 
responded  with  a  contingent  to  its  call  for  troops,  he  has  been 
engaged  in  great  national  enterprises,  and  in  wars  for  conquest, 
without  reference  to  his  suzerain.  With  extensive  works  of  inter- 
nal improvement,  with  manufacturing  establishments  scattered  all 
over  the  land,  with  Courts  after  the  European  model  sitting  at 
Cairo  and  Alexandria,  he  has  advanced  considerably  toward  pro- 
viding the  machinery  and  some  of  the  requisites  for  an  independent 
administration  and  a  self-existing  State.  His  great  conquests  in  the 
interior  of  Africa  have  given  his  territories  the  dimensions  of  a 
great  State.  Thus  Egypt  has  grown,  at  the  expense  of  the  authority 
of  the  Sovereign  Empire,  and  is  watching  for  a  favorable  moment 
to  throw  off  its  allegiance  entirely.  Nevertheless,  Egypt  is  in  no 
condition  for  independence.  The  fatal  diseases  of  Mohammedanism 
have  impaired  its  vitality,  and,  while  it  has  experienced  a  marvel- 
ous development  in  some  points,  it  has  been  subjected  to  cor- 
responding exhaustion  in  others.  The  domestic  enterprises  of  the 
Khedive  have  imposed  fearful  burdens  upon  the  people,  who  can 
not  endure  the  weight  of  taxation  and  labor  that  are  laid  upon 


5/0  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

them,  and  his  wars  are  depleting  the  country  of  its  best  men,  of 
whom  it  has  not  too  many  to  spare.  The  same  enterprises  have 
imposed  a  debt  upon  the  State  far  beyond  its  ability  to  sustain  it, 
in  consideration  of  which  the  Suez  Canal  has  substantially  passed 
into  the  hands  of  the  English,  and  nearly  all  the  productive  re- 
sources of  the  country  have  been  mortgaged  to  English  and  French 
creditors.  The  improvements  remain  to  Egypt,  and  the  spirit  of 
enterprise  which  has  been  awakened — which  will  be  kept  up  by 
foreign  speculators — but  all  of  its  available  resources  are  in  foreign 
hands.  The  English  look  upon  Egypt  as,  next  to  India,  their  near- 
est special  interest,  and  are  determined  to  have  a  potent  voice  in 
the  decision  of  its  fate.  Whether  Turkey  keeps  a  part  of  its  Euro- 
pean provinces,  or  loses  them  all,  Egypt  is  destined  soon  to  pass  out 
of  its  hands.  Its  most  probable  fate  will  be  to  become  an  English 
protectorate. 

The  Porte  will  not  be  able  to  retain  Tunis  long  after  it  shall  have 
lost  Egypt.  The  relation  of  this  dependency,  which  is  at  present, 
except  as  to  the  payment  of  a  tribute  and  the  furnishing  of  a  small 
contingent  in  war,  chiefly  nominal,  is  not  likely  to  be  maintained 
long  after  the  Porte  has  been  seriously  weakened  and  the  more 
powerful  intervening  State  has  fallen  away. 

Tripoli  is  still  governed  by  a  Viceroy  appointed  immediately  by 
the  Porte,  and  who  is  as  subject  to  the  orders  of  the  central  Govern- 
ment as  one  of  its  provincial  officers  at  Constantinople.  It  is  a 
small  State,  in  respect  to  population,  and  will  count  for  very  little 
in  any  question  aifecting  the  destinies  of  the  Empire. 

The  Bedouins  of  Syria  and  Mesopotamia  and  the  settled  Arabs 
of  Northern  and  Western  Arabia  form  a  large  proportion  of  the 
Turkish  subjects  in  Asia.  They  are  held  to  their  allegiance  by  the 
tradition  of  the  Sultan's  great  power.  When  this  tradition  is  broken 
by  a  decisive  defeat,  they  will  be  no  longer  to  be  depended  upon. 
The  Bedouins  dream  already,  it  is  said,  of  a  great  Bedouin  Empire, 
which  is  to  be  set  up  in  Syria  after  the  Turks  have  been  defeated 
by  the  Kussians,  and  the  Russians  have  in  turn  been  driven  away 
by  the  Bedouin  hosts.*  In  the  Sherif  of  Mecca  they  have  a  prince 
of  the  family  of  Mohammed,  which  the  Sultan  is  not,  who  can  set  up 
claims  to  their  allegiance  superior  to  those  of  the  Sultan. 


*  Rev.  Dr.  D.  H.  Jessup,  Missionary  at  Beyrut,  in  Foreign  Missionary  (Presbyterian 
Board  of  Missions)  for  April,  1877. 


THE  DOOM  OF  TURKEY.  57! 

The  review  of  the  condition  of  the  Turkish  Empire  in  the  light 
of  the  events  which  are  now  taking  place,  clearly  indicates  that  all 
of  the  European  provinces  will,  at  no  distant  period,  be  converted 
into  European,  Christian  States ;  that  Constantinople  will  again  be- 
come a  European  city ;  that  the  African  dependencies  will  pass  into 
the  condition  either  of  independent  States  or  of  European  depend- 
encies ;  that  Armenia  will  become  Russian ;  that  the  Arabs  will 
fall  away  soon  after  Turkey  has  been  sensibly  weakened  and  attempt 
an  independent  sovereignty  of  their  own  ;  and  that  the  Turks  will 
l)e  driven  to  their  home  in  Asia  Minor,  where,  hemmed  in  on  one 
side  by  the  Russians,  and  on  another  by  the  future  owners  of  Syria, 
and  crowded  by  the  enterprising  Greeks  on  the  sea-coast,  they  will 
live  out  what  remains  to  them  of  national  life,  an  insignificant  State, 
without  power  to  molest  any  one  seriously  and  exposed  to  a  process 
of  gradual  wearing  away  by  the  pressure  and  friction  of  the  enter- 
prising States  which  will  surround  them. 

The  London  Times  recently  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  re- 
sult of  the  war,  by  causing  the  Turks  to  give  up  their  hostile  Euro- 
pean Provinces,  while  they  receive  a  tribute  from  them,  and  by 
concentrating  the  Mussulmans  around  Constantinople  and  in  Asia 
Minor,  will  be  to  enable  them  to  "  create  a  new  Ottoman  power  ten 
times  stronger  than  if  it  were  spread  over  a  vast,  badly-organized,  and 
hostile  territory.  This  might  be  the  case  were  the  Turks  capable 
of  becoming  a  progressive  nation,  or  of  being  regenerated.  The 
facts  which  we  have  cited  show,  however,  that  all  the  essential 
qualities  of  the  Turkish  character  and  religion,  and  the  features 
which  are  at  the  roots  of  their  life  and  social  condition,  are  against 
any  such  transformation  taking  place.  "While  they  remain  Turks 
they  must  continue  to  go  down  ;  and  the  revival  of  their  race  can 
be  effected  only  at  the  expense  of  casting  away  everything  that  dis- 
tinguishes them  from  other  races. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   NEW   STATES   OF   THE   BALKAN   PENINSULA. 
I.   BULGARIANS   AND   GREEKS. 

The  Nationalities  that  are  to  Rule  Turkey — The  Bulgarians,  Greeks,  Rumanians,  Ser- 
vians— Latent  Traits  of  the  Bulgarians — The  Ancient  Bulgarians — Relations  of  Bul- 
garia and  the  East  Roman  Empire — The  Bogomils — The  Second  Bulgarian  Kingdom  ; 
its  Culmination  and  its  Speedy  Fall— Four  Centuries  and  a  half  of  Oppression  and 
Darkness — The  most  Wretched  People  in  Europe  at  the  Beginning  of  this  Century — 
The  Marvelous  Awakening  and  Speedy  Advance — The  First  Printed  Bulgarian  Book 
— Beginning  of  a  Movement  for  Education — The  First  Popular  Schools — What  has 
been  Accomplished  in  Fifty  Years — Newspapers — Books — School-books  and  Liter- 
ary Works — The  Ecclesiastical  Struggle  and  the  Victory  of  the  Bulgarians — The 
Capacity  of  the  People  Proved— Opinions  of  Intelligent  Travelers— Kanitz  and  Von 
Hellwald— They  are  Destined  to  Become  a  Leading  Nation  of  the  Earth— The  Claims 
of  the  Greeks — Their  Noble  Ancestry — What  the  World  Owes  to  Greek  Learning — 
The  Greeks  the  Ancient  Settlers  of  Turkey— The  Modern  Greeks  not  Hellenized  Slavs 
— The  West  Responsible  for  the  Conquest  of  the  Greeks — Tenacity  of  the  Grecian 
Character — Greece  During  and  Since  the  Revolution — Reasonableness  of  the  Demands 
of  Greece  for  Territorial  Expansion — Attitude  of  Greece  in  1876-'77 — Advance  into 
Thessaly  in  February,  1878 — A  Mistake — The  Adjustment  of  Grecian  Interests  more 
Practicable  than  in  case  of  any  other  Nationality  of  Turkey— Attitude  of  the  Greeks 
toward  the  Slavs — Foreign  Views  on  the  Expansion  of  Greece — Earl  Derby's  Ex- 
pression. 

WHEN  Turkish,  rule  has  come  to  an  end,  other  nationalities  will 
soon  supplant  the  Turks  in  the  possession  and  places  of  influence 
and  as  the  predominant  races  of  the  country  which  they  inhabit. 
The  principal  difficulty  in  the  settlement  of  the  Eastern  Question 
so  far  has  been  to  determine  who  should  take  the  place  of  the 
Moslems  as  the  rulers  of  their  European  provinces.  This  difficulty 
is  now  likely  to  be  removed  in  time,  in  a  natural  way,  and  by  the 
operation  of  natural  forces  which  will  eventually  work  out  their 
own  solution,  whether  the  powers  are  willing  to  agree  to  it  or  not. 
The  treaty  of  peace  has  already  put  the  Balkan  peninsula  into  the 
hands  of  the  nationalities,  which  form  the  masses  of  its  population. 
The  question  that  now  remains  to  be  solved  is  not  whether  or  even 
how  soon  these  nationalities  will  come  into  complete  possession  of  their 
inheritance,  but  how  it  shall  be  divided  among  them.  A  study  of  the 
map  of  nationalities  and  religions  will  give  the  reader  a  fair  idea 
of  the  general  course  that  must  be  followed  by  the  lines  of  division ; 
(572) 


UP   A   TREE. 


NEW  STATES  OF  THE  BALKAN  PENINSULA.          575 

a  course  which,  except  as  to  the  Turks,  has  been  fairly  regarded  in 
adjusting  the  boundaries  of  the  new  Bulgaria. 

An  objection  which  has  always,  heretofore  been  opposed  with 
force  against  the  division  of  Turkey  among  its  nationalities  and 
their  erection  into  separate  powers,  has  been  that  they  were,  and 
would  continue  to  be  for  a  long  time,  too  weak  and  too  backward  in 
the  arts  of  civilization  to  be  self-sustaining  States,  and  would  neces- 
sarily, therefore,  exist  in  dependence  upon  some  strong  power  and 
.be  its  puppets;  and  that  this  power,  whatever  it  might  be,  would 
be  more  dangerous  to  the  peace  of  Europe  than  Turkey  had  been. 
The  new  States  themselves  only  can  give  the  answer  to  this  objec- 
tion by  developing  and  exhibiting  their  capacity  for  independent 
government.  "We  may  even  now  form  an  estimate  of  the  extent  to 
which  they  may  be  able  to  do  this,  and  of  the  speed  with  which 
they  are  likely  to  accomplish  it,  by  a  study  of  the  character  of  the 
nationalities,  and  of  the  account  which  they  have  given,  and  are  giv- 
ing, of  themselves.  This  we  may  do  by  an  examination  of  what 
they  achieved  in  the  past,  before  the  Turks  crushed  them,  and  of 
the  efforts  which  they  have  put  forth  in  our  own  day  for  their 
national  generation. 

Four  nationalities  compete  to  share  the  control  of  the  Balkan 
peninsula — the  Bulgarians,  the  Greeks,  the  Servians,  and  the  Ru- 
manians. The  Bulgarians  and  Servians  belong  to  the  Slavic  race; 
the  Greeks  and  Rumanians  form  each  a  distinct  race.  The  desires  of 
the  Bulgarians  and  Greeks  for  territorial  autonomy  and  independ- 
ence could  be  satisfied  without  interf  ering  with  the  interests  of  any 
European  States.  The  claims  of  the  Rumanians  and  Servians,  on 
the  other  hand,  involve  the  readjustment  of  boundaries,  would 
require,  if  they  were  fully  conceded,  a  considerable  reduction  of  the 
territories  of  the  Austrian  Empire,  and  would  threaten  a  dissolution 
of  the  Empire  itself,  with  the  overthrow  of  Magyar  supremacy  in 
the  South. 

The  new  principality  of  Bulgaria,  as  established  by  the  treaty  of 
San  Stefano,  will  include  more  than  half  of  the  territory  of  Euro- 
pean Turkey,  aside  from  Servia  and  Rumania,  and  will  contain  about 
74,400  square  miles,  an  extent  about  equal  to  that  of  the  States  of 
Ohio  and  Indiana,  and  from  5,000,000  to  5,500,000  inhabitants. 
Of  the  rest  of  Turkey,  59,500  square  miles  are  in  Bosnia,  Albania, 
and  the  Grecian  provinces,  and  8,500  square  miles  around  Constanti- 
nople. 


576  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST, 

TLe  Bulgarian  boundaries  have  been  skillfully  stretched  out  by 
the  Russian  diplomats,  so  as  to  include  nearly  eveiy  part  of  the 
country  hi  which  there  is  any  considerable  proportion  of  Bulgarians, 
and  have  been  fixed  in  the  South,  often  in  disregard  of  the  claims 
of  the  Greek  nationality,  so  as  to  embrace  an  ample  stretch  of  coast 
and  commodious  harbor  privileges  on  the  ^Egean  Sea.  The  Bul- 
garians constitute  about  four-fifths  of  the  population  in  the  western 
part  of  the  territory  ;  the  Turks  are  settled  in  nearly  equal  numbers 
with  the  Bulgarians  in  the  eastern  part ;  three-fifths  of  the  people 
in  the  Macedonian  districts  are  of  Albanian  or  Illyrian  origin,  and 
parts  of  the  sea- coast  are  wholly  settled  by  Greeks. 

The  Bulgarians  appear  in  the  present  times  under  unfavorable 
lights,  and  show  to  superficial  observers  but  little  promise  of  the 
brilliant  future  which  their  friends  predict  is  in  store  for  them.  The 
majority  of  travelers  give  very  unfavorable  accounts  of  them,  and 
only  a  few  have  had  the  penetration  to  discover,  or  the  courage  to 
declare,  that  under  the  mask  of  stolid  stupidity,  indolence,  and  half 
barbarism  which  Turkish  oppression  and  Greek  repression  have 
caused  them  to  wear  for  centuries,  are  hidden  traits  and  faculties, 
which,  if  given  a  fair  opportunity  to  develop  themselves,  would 
shortly  place  them  among  the  foremost  of  the  Slavic  races.  The 
Bulgarian  peasants  did  much,  it  is  true,  during  the  war,  by  the  atro- 
cities of  which  they  were  guilty,  to  discredit  themselves  and  to  lend 
an  air  of  confirmation  to  the  most  that  has  been  said  against  them. 
Those  acts,  however,  in  all  their  wickedness,  were  in  reality  the 
natural  workings  of  a  reaction  against  the  long  oppressions  under 
which  they  had  suffered  with  a  patience  which  has  itself  helped  to 
condemn  them,  and  were  the  symptoms  of  a  morbid  condition  for 
which  the  Bulgarian  nation  had  itself  already  applied  the  remedies, 
and  from  which  it  would  probably  have  freed  itself  in  a  few  years  if 
there  had  been  no  war. 

That  this  nation  has  in  it  the  elements  out  of  which  it  may  yet 
work  a  noble  development  of  itself,  is  made  probable  against  all  ap- 
pearances, by  the  recollection  of  the  character  of  the  ancestry  whom 
it  boasts,  arid  is  confirmed  by  the  view  of  the  measures  which  the 
people  have  already  taken  to  improve  their  condition.  The  ancient 
Bulgarians  were  a  conquering  people.  They  came  down  from  the 
North  like  the  other  barbarian  races  which  revolutionized  Europe 
during  the  first  thousand  years  of  the  Christian  era,  and  were,  by  all 
accounts,  the  peers  of  the  best  of  them.  Having  established  them- 


NEW  STATES  OF  THE  BALKAN  PENINSULA,          577 

selves  in  the  region  which  they  made  their  kingdom,  their  stock  be- 
came intermingled  with  Slavic  blood  till  they  became  in  effect  a 
Slavic  race,  but  more  warlike  and  more  fierce  than  the  other  Slavs. 
The  nation  constituted  an  important  and  powerful  kingdom  for  about 
three  hundred  years,  till  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  eleventh  century 
it  fell  under  the  dominion  of  the  Emperors  at  Constantinople.  Dur- 
ing this  period  it  was  converted  to  Christianity,  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  ninth  century ;  and  some  literary  activity  was  developed  among 
the  priests,  who  translated  the  Bible  and  a  few  of  the  classical  authors 
into  the  Old  Slavonic  tongue,  while  the  language  of  the  people,  the 
real  Bulgarian  language,  had  not  yet  been  reduced  to  writing.  At 
one  time,  the  kingdom  having  been  divided,  the  Emperor  Nicephorus 
called  in  the  Russians  to  help  him  conquer  the  eastern  part  to  the 
Danube.  The  conquest  having  been  achieved,  the  Russians  settled 
upon  the  Balkans  and  turned  their  arms  against  the  Empire.  The 
Emperor  called  upon  the  Bulgarians  to  help  him,  and  the  Russians  were 
expelled.  The  western  kingdom  maintained  its  independent  exist- 
ence for  forty  years  after  the  eastern  one  was  subjected,  in  constant 
war  with  the  Empire.  At  one  time  fifteen  thousand  Bulgarians  are 
said  to  have  been  taken  prisoners  and  blinded  by  the  Greeks,  except 
that  about  a  hundred  were  left  with  one  eye  to  lead  their  fellows  back 
to  their  homes.  The  shock  of  the  sight  of  his  mutilated  heroes  killed 
the  King,  Samuel,  and  the  whole  kingdom  then  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Greeks.  The  story  of  this  atrocity  is  still  told  among  the  Bul- 
garian people,  and  helps  to  keep  up  the  hatred  of  the  Greeks,  which 
is  one  of  the  distinctive  features  of  their  national  life. 

Previous  to  this  time  the  country  had  fallen  largely  under  the 
influence  of  the  Bogomils,  a  heretical  sect  corresponding  to  the 
Cathari  and  Albigenses  of  Western.  Europe.  Their  doctrines  were 
well  suited  to  the  disposition  of  the  people.  They  set  store  upon  a 
certain  degree  of  education ;  and  the  popular  language  of  the  Bul- 
garians being  still  unwritten,  the  Bogomils  applied  an  alphabet  to 
it,  adapted  it  to  literary  uses,  and  gave  the  people  the  first  books 
that  they  could  comprehend.  These  books  consisted  principally  of 
Biblical  and  classical  stories,  and  stories  from  the  "  Arabian  Nights," 
translated  and  modified  so  as  to  suit  the  popular  tastes,  with  a  few 
original  works.  The  translations  found  their  way  into  the  neigh- 
boring countries,  and  through  them,  it  is  said,  the  Bosnians,  Croats, 
"Wallachs,  and  Russians  received  their  first  knowledge  of  the  pro- 
ductions of  ancient  Eastern  literature. 


578  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

The  kingdom  of  Bulgaria  again  became  independent  in  1186. 
Under  the  Czar  Joannes  II.,  from  1218  to  1241,  its  boundaries 
touched  the  three  seas,  the  Adriatic,  the  ^Egean,  and  the  Black 
Seas,  and  its  capital,  Tirnova,  was  distinguished  for  its  wealth  and 
splendor.  The  virtues  and  independent  spirit  of  the  people  had, 
however,  been  weakened  by  the  unhealthy  influences  of  foreign  rule 
and  association,  and  the  State  was  distracted  by  the  unintermitting 
quarrels  between  the  adherents  of  the  Orthodox  Church  and  the 
Bogomils,  often  rising  to  bloody  conflicts,  in  which  one  party  or  the 
other  would  not  infrequently  call  in  aid  from  abroad.  Under  the 
influence  of  this  demoralization  and  dissension  the  State  rapidly 
declined  after  the  death  of  Joannes,  until,  after  the  defeat  of  the 
Servians  in  the  battle  of  Kosovo,  in  1389,  it  fell  an  easy  prey  to  the 
Turkish  conquerors. 

A  barbarism  which  endured  more  than  four  centuries,  and  has  as 
yet  only  begun  to  disappear,  now  settled  upon  the  people.  The 
Boyars  embraced  Mohammedanism  to  save  their  estates;  the 
Bogomils  were  likewise  won  over  to  Islam  through  the  influence 
of  a  heretical  Mohammedan  sect  which  had  some  sympathy  with 
them  in  doctrine.  With  the  Boyars,  the  people  lost  their  leaders ; 
with  the  Bogomils  they  lost  the  bond  which  had  held  them  in  fel- 
lowship. Their  Church  was  made  subject  to  the  Patriarchate  of 
Constantinople,  and  was  delivered  in  effect  to  the  control  of  the 
Fanariote  Greeks  (or  the  Greeks  of  Constantinople,  called  Fanariotc 
after  the  quarter  (Fanar)  of  the  city  which  they  inhabited),  who 
were  enemies  of  their  nationality.  "  Seldom,  in  the  course  of  his- 
tory," says  a  recent  writer,*  "  have  one  people  acted  toward  another 
more  execrably  than  did  the  Greeks  in  Turkey  to  their  Bulgarian 
fellow-believers."  They  obtained  concessions  of  privileges  from  the 
Porte,  and  used  them  in  every  possible  way  for  the  repression  of 
the  Bulgarian  nationality.  The  priestly  offices  were  filled  by  Greeks 
or  renegade  Bulgarians,  or  were  made  matters  of  bargain  and  sale, 
so  that  the  author  from  whom  we  have  already  quoted  is  impelled 
to  say,  with  a  semblance  of  truth,  that  although  "  many  unworthy 
priestly  castes  have  ruled  on  the  earth,  none  have  been  more  so  than 
the  Greek  priests  of  the  Bulgarians.  Their  unscrupulousness,  their 
greediness,  can  not  be  described  in  words."  They  made  a  determined 
attack  upon  all  the  motives  of  the  national  spirit,  endeavored  to  do- 


*  B.  C.  Franzos,  in  the  Allgemeine  Zeitung,  October,  1877. 


NEW  STATES  OF  THE  BALKAN  PENINSULA.  579 

stroy  all  the  books  and  manuscripts  which  existed  either  in  the  Old 
Slavonic  or  in  the  popular  tongue,  and  established  a  system  of  op- 
pression and  plunder,  which  carried  on  even  into  the  present  century, 
left  the  Bulgarians  little  else  than  their  bare  life,  but  utterly  failed 
to  destroy  their  national  feeling. 

The  collections  of  the  songs  of  the  people  current  during  this 
period  which  have  been  recently  published  bear  evidences  of  the 
feelings  which  they  entertained  toward  both  their  Turkish  and 
Grecian  oppressors,  in  many  printed  allusions  to  them  and  to  the 
indignities  which  the  people  had  to  endure  from  them.  Some  of 
the  braver  men,  refusing  to  submit  to  these  oppressions,  took  refuge 
in  the  mountains,  where  they  were  known  as  Haiducs,  and  whence 
they  kept  up  an  unceasing  guerrilla  warfare  against  Turks  and 
Greeks.  They  have  been  called  robbers,  but  as  they  were  accus- 
tomed to  discriminate  between  friends  and  enemies,  and  always 
spared  and  often  protected  their  own  people,  they  are  better  en- 
titled to  be  ranked  with  the  heroic  defenders  of  Montenegro. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  no  people  in  Europe 
were  in  a  more  wretched  condition  than  the  Bulgarians.  Their 
nationality  was  regarded  as  a  stigma.  The  people  in  the  towns 
were  Grecianized  ;  and  whenever  any  one  rose  to  a  position  in  which 
he  had  an  ambition  to  appear  respectable  and  figure  in  society,  it 
was  the  fashion  for  him  to  give  his  name  a  Greek  form.  The  na- 
tive language  was  regarded  as  a  barbaric  tongue,  and  its  use  was 
confined  to  countrymen  and  dwellers  in  small  towns.  Nothing  was 
written  in  it,  even  the  commercial  and  private  correspondence  being 
carried  on  in  Greek,  or  if  the  Bulgarian  language  was  used,  it  was 
written  in  Greek  characters.  The  services  of  the  churches  were 
performed  exclusively  in  Greek.  A  Russian  traveler,  Gregorovitch, , 
who  visited  Ochrida,  the  ancient  seat  of  the  Bulgarian  Church,, 
could  not  find  there  any  one  who  could  read  Slavic. 

The  people  who  remained  true  to  their  nationality  were  isolated! 
from  each  other ;  they  had  no  means  of  knowing  how  large  a  proportion; 
of  the  population  they  formed,  or  how  their  countrymen  who  lived 
outside  of  their  own  neighborhood  felt.  Deprived  of  civilizing  in- 
fluences they  necessarily  sunk  lower.  The  priests,  upon  whom  alone- 
they  could  depend  for  instruction,  were  either  hostile  or  ignorant, 
like  themselves.  In  many  districts  the  people  grew  up  without  any 
knowledge  of  religion  or  worship,  and  became  the  victims  of  error.- 
and  brutalizing  influences. 


580  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

The  awakening  from  this  condition  has  been  marvelous,  almost 
miraculous  ;  the  results  that  have  followed  it  have  been  rapid  and 
extensive  almost  without  example. 

A  Bulgarian  priest  at  Mount  Athos,  in  1762,  composed  a  small 
Slovene  -  Bulgarian  History,  of  which  several  copies  were  made 
and  circulated.  Stoico  Yladislavoff,  who  afterward  became  Sopro- 
nius,  Bishop  of  Braca,  saw  one  of  the  copies,  and  was  induced 
to  devote  himself  to  the  cultivation  of  his  mother-tongue.  He 
translated  a  number  of  popular  works  from  the  Greek,  and  in  1806 
published  a  book  of  Bulgarian  Prayers,  which  was  the  first  book 
ever  printed  in  the  modern  Bulgarian  language.  The  Greek  war 
of  independence,  the  revolt  of  the  Hetarists  in  Wallachia,  and  the 
invasion  of  the  country  by  the  Russians  in  the  war  of  1828,  all  con- 
tributed their  share  toward  rousing  the  national  spirit. 

There  were  a  few  Bulgarian  merchants  and  bankers  at  Bucharest, 
originating  from  the  lower  classes,  who  were  not  ashamed  of  their 
nationality,  but  were  pained  at  the  low  esteem  in  which  it  was  held. 
They  decided  to  do  what  they  could  to  improve  it.  They  formed  a 
society  whose  double  object  was  to  send  Bulgarian  youth  to  Vienna 
to  be  instructed,  and  to  arouse  a  thirst  for  education  among  their 
countrymen  at  home.  The  association  was  well  provided  with 
means,  and  brought  forth  noticeable  fruits  in  a  short  time.  Its 
young  students  returned  from  school  thoroughly  imbued  with 
national  ideas.  A  Bulgarian  primer  containing  reading  lessons  and 
pictures  of  an  instructive  character  had  been  published  in  1824. 
Some  of  the  students  supplemented  it  with  works  of  a  more  ad- 
vanced character,  and  others  returned  to  their  homes  as  teachers. 
The  production  of  other  books  followed,  in  all  of  which  adaptation 
to  the  need  of  the  people  for  instruction  was  the  first  quality 
sought.  It  is  remarkable  and  creditable  to  the  character  of  the 
Bulgarians,  and  is,  perhaps,  one  of  the  secrets  of  the  success  that  has 
attended  their  literary  and  educational  efforts,  that  the  first  books 
which*  appeared,  besides  school-books,  were  grammars,  dictionaries, 
cyclopedias,  and  histories.  "  We  must  not,"  said  one  of  the  leaders 
of  this  period,  "  write  what  will  merely  please,  we  must  write  what 
is  useful.  Schools  !  by  that  sign  only  can  we  conquer  !  "  The  first 
people's  school  was  opened  at  Gabrova  in  1835.  The  Fanariote 
priests  opposed  it.  and  tried  to  induce  the  Pasha  to  forbid  it,  but  he 
replied,  "  Learning  is  no  sin."  The  second  school  was  opened  at 
Sistova  in  1836,  the  third  at  Koprovitchtica  in  1837.  Fifty-three 


NEW  STATES  OF  THE  BALKAN  PENINSULA.  581 

primary  schools  had  been  established  in  1845,  besides  the  Central 
Lyceum  at  Philippopolis.  In  1873  there  were  in  the  province  of 
Philippopolis,  with  a  total  Bulgarian  Christian  population  of  390,000 
souls,  three  hundred  and  seventy  high,  preparatory,  elementary,  and 
girls'  schools,  with  402  teachers,  and  13,885  boys  and  2,615  girls  as 
pupils.  Instruction  is  given  free  of  cost,  in  all  the  branches  of  an 
ordinary  common  school  education.  Statistics  are  not  accessible  for 
the  other  provinces. 

The  growth  of  Bulgarian  journalism  corresponds  fairly  with  the 
development  of  the  schools.  The  first  Bulgarian  periodical  was  a 
monthly,  started  in  1844,  at  Smyrna  ;  the  first  political  journal  was 
published  at  Leipzig  in  1846.  A  daily  paper  was  founded  at  Con- 
stantinople in  1849,  which  was  for  ten  years  the  principal  organ  of 
the  people,  and  fought  bravely  for  them  in  the  battle  against  the 
Greek  ecclesiasticism.  In  1876,  fifty-one  newspapers  in  the  Bul- 
garian language  had  been  started.  Many  of  them  had  only  a  brief 
existence,  but  fourteen  of  them  remained  in  1875,  including  four 
political  journals  in  Constantinople,  official  papers  at  Rustchuk, 
Salonica,  and  Adrianople,  two  literary,  one  theological,  and  three 
technical  papers,  and  the  political  organ  of  the  emigrants  at  Bucha- 
rest. All  but  the  political  journals  have  been  suspended  since  the 
war  begun.  The  larger  journals  were  well  edited,  with  matter 
chosen  to  suit  the  tastes  of  their  readers,  who  formed,  as  a  whole,  an 
interested  and  appreciative  class  ;  they  were  very  patriotic,  and  ex- 
erted a  great  influence. 

Literary  works  other  than  school-books  began  to  appear  about 
1840.  In  1876,  about  five  hundred  such  works  had  been  published, 
some  of  them  in  editions  numbering  three  or  four  thousand  copies. 
About  half  the  number  are  translations,  among  which  are  mentioned 
the  poems  of  Bulwer  and  Byron,  a  part  of  Shakespeare,  English 
governess-stories,  sensational  novels,  German  and  French  classical 
works,  Russian  and  Polish  books.  .The  original  works  are  lyric 
poems,  describing  the  popular  life  or  deeds  from  the  national  history, 
or  reflecting  the  national  aspirations,  and  generally  of  a  character 
promising  a  hopeful  future  for  this  kind  of  literary  effort,  and 
dramas,  of  which  about  forty  have  been  published  since  1870.  A 
•few  novels  have  been  published,  the  best  known  of  which  are  the 
stories  of  Karaveloff  and  the  historical  novels  of  Bishop  Drumoff ; 
history  is  represented  by  four  writers  of  reputation,  and  philological 
research  by  the  works  of  three  authors. 


582  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Considering  what  is  the  condition  of  the  country,  the  Bulgarian 
authors  enjoy  a  large  clientage  and  are  liberally  supported.  The 
people  have  a  taste  for  reading,  and  gratify  it ;  and  the  Bulgarian 
patriot,  it  is  said,  considers  it  a  sacred  duty  to  buy  books. 

The  turning-point  in  the  national  development  of  the  Bulgarians 
was  reached  when  they  gained  from  the  Porte,  against  the  strenu- 
ous opposition  of  the  Fanariote  Greeks  and  of  all  the  Fanariote 
influences,  the  freedom  of  their  Church.  The  struggle  which  ended 
in  this  result  was  a  long  and  severe  one,  and  was  well  fitted  to  test 
the  capacity  for  endurance  of  many  a  people  who  stand  higher  in 
the  world's  estimation.  That  the  Bulgarians  achieved  so  complete 
a  victory  as  they  have  done,  is  not  the  least  of  the  evidences  which 
they  have  given  of  their  capacity  to  constitute  an  independent  and 
strong  State.  It  was  perceived,  at  the  beginning  of  the  efforts  for 
improvement,  that  the  most  earnest  and  wisely-directed  exertions 
of  patriotic  endeavor  would  fail  to  accomplish  the  object  that  was 
sought,  while  the  Church  was  ruled  by  a  hostile,  anti-Bulgarian 
hierarchy,  and  the  people  were  under  the  influence,  in  their  homes 
and  their  closest  relations,  of  a  priesthood  who  would  employ  every 
means  in  their  power  to  baifle  the  aims  of  the  reformers.  Accord- 
ingly, the  emancipation  of  the  Church  was  made  one  of  the  most 
essential  and  important  objects  of  the  new  movement.  In  1833, 
the  people  of  Samokov  and  Skopie  asked  for  the  appointment  of 
Bulgarian  bishops,  instead  of  the  unworthy  Greeks  who  had  been 
removed  from  their  sees.,  but  other  Greeks  were  sent  them  in  their 
stead.  In  1840,  a  Bulgarian,  who  had  been  appointed  Bishop  of 
Widin,  died  while  he  was  gone  to  Constantinople,  it  is  said,  of 
poison.  Ten  years  later,  the  attention  of  the  Government  was 
directed  to  the  Bulgarian  grievance  by  means  of  an  insurrection 
which  broke  out  near  Widin,  and  the  Patriarch  was  requested  to 
consecrate  a  Bulgarian  bishop.  He  consecrated  one,  but  left  him 
without  a  diocese.  When  the  Porte  called  a  National  Assembly  to 
consider  the  question  of  reforms  in  1858,  the  ecclesiastics  took  care 
that  no  Bulgarians  should  obtain  seats  in  the  body,  and  the  demand 
of  the  people  for  a  voice  in  the  appointment  of  their  ecclesiastics 
was  denied,  because  the  Church,  the  ecclesiastics  answered,  recog- 
nized no  difference  of  nationalities.  At  one  time  during  the  strug- 
gle, the  Bulgarians  sought  a  union  with  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  The  union  was  very  nearly  effected,  by  the  help  of  Napo- 
leon III.  of  France,  in  1854,  when  England  and  Russia  interfered, 


NEW  STATES  OF  THE  BALKAN  PENINSULA.          583 

and  stopped  the  negotiations.  A  general  movement  was  instituted 
against  the  Fanariote  ecclesiastics  in  1860.  The  bishops  were 
driven  out  from  several  cities,  native  bishops  were  provisionally 
appointed  in  their  places,  the  Bulgarian  language  was  introduced 
into  the  schools,  and  the  Bulgarian  congregation  at  Constantinople 
showed  its  approval  of  the  revolutionary  acts  by  refusing  to  recog- 
nize the  election  of  a  new  Patriarch,  which  took  place  at  about  that 
time.  The  prayer  for  the  Patriarch  ceased  to  be  repeated  in  the 
churches,  his  name  was  hooted  at  when  it  was  mentioned,  and  the 
name  of  the  Sultan  was  substituted  in  its  place.  The  Government 
sought  to  gain  from  the  Patriarch  concessions  to  the  demands  of  the 
people,  but  assent  was  twice  refused  to  its  propositions.  It  then 
acted  on  its  own  account,  and  a  firman  was  granted  on  the  28th  of 
February,  1870,  constituting  the  Bulgarian  Church  an  independent 
Exarchate.  A  pastoral  letter,  full  of  extravagant,  but  sincere,  ex- 
pressions of  gratitude  to  the  Sultan,  announced  the  victory  to  the 
people.  Bishop  Anthrin,  of  Widin,  was  chosen  Exarch  in  1872. 
His  journey  to  Constantinople  to  be  consecrated  was  like  a  triumphal 
march. 

Some  authors  have  ascribed  to  Russia  a  larger  share  in  the  regen- 
eration of  Bulgaria  than  it  deserves.  The  contributions  of  Russia 
to  this  work  have  been  indirect,  and  have  been  given  chiefly  in  the 
shape  of  the  presence  of  military  forces,  and  in  such  encouragement 
as  the  Panslavist  agitations  may  have  afforded  in  the  awakening 
in  the  hearts  of  despondent  Bulgarians  the  hope  that  their  people 
might  participate  in  the  regeneration  of  the  Slavic  races,  and  in 
inspiring  them  with  the  motive  to  prepare  themselves  for  the  bright 
destiny  that  was  painted  for  them.  The  Russians,  during  the  cam- 
paign of  1828,  made  fair  promises  to  the  Bulgarians  of  the  aid  and 
support  which  they  would  give  them,  which  were  rudely  broken 
when  the  peace  of  Adrianople  was  concluded,  a  few  weeks  after- 
ward, without  making  any  provisions  for  them.  The  Bulgarians 
were  deceived  by  these  promises  into  compromising  themselves,  by 
engaging  in  movements  for  resistance  to  the  Turks,  only  to  be  told 
by  Gen.  Diebitch  that  he  could  do  nothing  of  what  he  had  under- 
taken to  do  for  them,  and  to  discover  that  they  would  have  to  settle 
with  the  Turks  in  the  best  way  they  could.  So,  again,  they  were 
misled  by  the  persuasions  of  Russian  agitators  into  the  insurrec- 
tionary attempts  of  1876,  and,  by  the  appearance  of  a  Russian  army, 
into  the  disastrous  outbreaks  of  1877,  to  repent  of  their  mistakes  in 


584  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

mourning  and  suffering.  All  the  active,  real  work  of  their  regen- 
eration has  been  done  by  themselves,  and  Franzos  asserts  that  not  a 
single  Great  Russian  has  had  any  direct  part  in  it. 

The  value  of  the  service  which  Russia  has  rendered  the  Bulgarians 
in  delivering  them  from  Turkish  despotism  can  not  be  overesti- 
mated. It  is  the  first  real  service  that,  with  all  its  pretensions,  it 
has  ever  performed  for  them.  The  best  conclusion  it  can  now  make 
of  its  work  will  be  to  leave  them  alone  to  work  out  their  own  de- 
velopment in  their  own  way  and  through  their  own  resources. 
That  Russian  influence  will  not  be  beneficial  to  the  best  interests  of 
the  Bulgarians  is  shown  by  the  history  of  past  dealings  of  Russia 
with  them,  which  have  been  marked  by  manifestations  of  a  policy 
to  denationalize  Bulgaria,  to  discourage  the  national  features  of  its 
literature,  and  to  make  the  people  Russian.  This  was  exemplified 
several  years  ago,  when  the  Russians,  having  induced  a  colony  of 
Bulgarians  to  settle  in  Bessarabia,  suppressed  the  use  of  their 
language  in  the  schools,  substituting  the  Russian  language  for  it, 
and  forbade  the  publication  of  a  Bulgarian  newspaper.  The  restric- 
tions upon  the  national  life  of  the  settlers  were  not  removed  till  the 
colony,  by  the  operation  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  passed  under  the 
rule  of  Rumania,  when  the  Bulgarian  language  was  restored.  The 
jealousy  of  the  powers,  which  is  ever  watchful  to  prevent  the  exten- 
sion of  direct  Russian  power,  and  the  strength  of  the  newly-awakened 
national  feelings  of  the  Bulgarians,  are  probably  too  strong  to  permit 
such  a  policy  being  attempted  with  any  hope  of  success  in  the  new 
principality. 

A  great  impulse  was  given  to  the  material  progress  of  Bulgaria 
under  the  administration  of  Midhat  Pasha.  During  this  brief  and 
exceptional  period  of  good  government,  the  province  enjoyed  such 
order  as  it  had  never  known  before,  improvements  were  made,  en- 
terprise was  stimulated,  industries  were  established,  and  a  promise 
of  prosperity  appeared  which  was  unexampled  in  the  history  of 
European  Turkey.  This  improvement  was  quickened  by  the  growth 
of  the  rejuvenated  national  spirit,  and  was  aided  by  the  settled  habits 
of  the  people,  who  are  almost  universally  spoken  of  as  industrious 
and  thrifty,  with  no  inclination  to  drunkenness  or  wasteful  vices, 
and  prudent  in  their  investments;  so  that  the  province  became 
the  richest  and  the  most  productive  of  revenues  of  any  of  the 
European  possessions  of  Turkey.  The  succeeding  administrations, 
although  they  were  misconducted  after  the  old  fashion,  did  not  de- 


NEW  STATES  OF  THE  BALKAN  PENINSULA.          585 

prive  the  people  of  the  advantages  they  had  gained,  or  abate  their 
progress,  so  that  it  was  said  that  the  Russian  soldiers  were  astonished 
when  they  entered  the  country  they  were  called  upon  to  deliver,  to 
find  that  its  people  were  better  off,  in  many  respects,  than  they  were 
in  their  own  homes. 

The  Bulgarians  have  proved  themselves  worthy  of  the  advantages 
they  have  gained.  That  they  have  fairly  won  their  literary  culture 
is  shown  by  the  number  of  their  newspapers  and  books,  which  would 
not  be  published  if  they  did  not  find  readers  and  purchasers,  not 
less  than  by  the  prosperity  of  their  schools.  In  the  schools  they 
bear  the  most  favorable  reputation.  The  Protestant  missionaries 
describe  them  as  their  best  scholars,  and  as  a  people  of  extraordinary 
natural  abilities.  Kanitz  speaks  in  the  highest  terms  of  their  desire 
for  education  and  practical  sense,  as  shown  by  the  fact  that  they  will 
seek  knowledge,  without  religious  prejudice,  wherever  it  may  be 
got.  He  found  those  who  had  been  instructed  abroad  to  be  people 
of  unusual  intelligence.  He  considers  them  superior  to  the  Servians 
in  qualifications  for  engineering  and  the  industrial  arts.  Their  rose- 
gardens  in  Rumelia,  from  which  the  attar  of  roses  of  the  world's 
markets  is  derived,  are  among  the  most  profitable  agricultural  fields 
of  that  province ;  their  industrial  villages  in  the  Balkans  were  among 
the  most  prosperous  as  well  as  the  most  beautiful  towns  of  the  Em- 
pire. Two  of  them,  which  have  been  destroyed  by  the  Turks,  Car- 
lova  and  Sopot,  are  described  by  a  war  correspondent  as  places  which 
each  member  of  a  company  who  visited  them  after  their  destruction 
declared  he  would  have  chosen  as  a  residence  next  after  his  own  home. 
Kanitz  says  that  we  must  look  among  them  for  the  future  industrial 
population  of  Turkey.  Yon  Hellwald  and  Beck,  in  their  "Die 
Heutigue  Tiirkei "  (The  Turkey  of  To-day),  say  that  they  are  "  the 
most  intelligent,  and  in  a  literary  sense,  the  most  cultivated  people 
of  European  Turkey,  in  whose  spiritual  development  they  are 
certainly  destined  to  take  a  great  part." 

A  people  who  can  be  described  in  such  language,  who  are  capable 
of  manifesting  such  energy,  and  of  doing  so  much  for  themselves 
as  our  record  shows,  can  not  be  consigned  to  an  ignoble  future. 
The  qualities  they  have  developed,  the  advances  they  have  made,  in- 
dicate that  with  freedom  they  would  become  one  of  the  leading 
nations  of  the  East.  Their  progress  has  been  suddenly  and  rudely 
interrupted,  their  country  made  desolate  by  war,  and  they  have  been 
put  back  materially  many  years.  Their  national  aspirations,  their 


586  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

desire  for  improvements,  and  their  spirit  of  progress,  however,  re- 
main to  them,  and  will  command  consideration  in  whatever  adjust- 
ment may  be  made  bearing  on  the  future  of  the  Empire. 

The  Greeks  constitute  the  most  vigorous,  the  most  enterprising, 
and  the  most  cultivated  nationality  of  the  Turkish  Empire,  and 
must  always  command  a  first  place  in  the  consideration  of  questions 
relating  to  its  future.  They  claim  a  hearing  by  reason  of  their 
numbers,  influence,  and  social  standing ;  by  reason  of  their  pro- 
gressive spirit ;  of  the  obligations  which  the  Great  Powers  have 
incurred  toward  the  kingdom  of  Greece,  and  of  what  they  are 
capable  of  doing  for  the  regeneration  and  civilization  of  the  de- 
caying Turkish  provinces.  They  can  also  appeal  to  history,  can 
call  to  mind  the  obligations  which  civilization  owes  to  their  race, 
and  can  show  that  they  are  the  rightful  heirs  to  the  greater  part  of 
the  provinces  which  the  Turk  has  so  wretchedly  misgoverned  since 
the  Western  Powers  permitted  him  to  subjugate  them. 

No  nationality  in  the  world  has  a  prouder  record  than  the  ances- 
tors of  the  Greeks.  Civilization  and  liberty  grew  up  among  them 
and  flourished  to  a  degree  that  has  never  been  excelled  in  any  other 
nation  till  the  present  century.  No  equals  have  ever  been  found 
to  their  best  works  of  literature  and  art.  They  originated  the 
training  and  the  methods  of  study  which  have  given  the  impulse 
to  all  modern  progress  in  learning  and  discovery ;  so  that  there  is 
hardly  a  good  gift  which  the  world  enjoys  to-day  to  which  they 
have  not  directly  or  indirectly  contributed.  They  transmitted  their 
civilization  and  learning  to  the  Romans,  and  the  Romans  distrib- 
uted it  over  their  world.  While  Western  Europe  lost  its  knowledge 
in  the  Middle  Ages,  the  Greeks  preserved  theirs  at  Constantinople ; 
and  the  scattering  of  Greeks  over  Europe  consequent  upon  the  con- 
quests of  the  Turks,  is  mentioned  by  the  historians  as  one  of  the 
prime  motives  to  the  revival  of  learning  in  the  fifteenth  and  six- 
teenth centuries. 

The  Greeks  were  the  first  civilized  people  who  settled  in  the 
European  parts  of  Turkey ;  and  they  are  the  first  civilized  people 
who  lived  within  the  historical  period  in  a  part  of  its  Asiatic  terri- 
tory. Their  first  exploration  of  the  Black  Sea  and  opening  of  it  to 
navigation,  lies  back  of  history  in  the  mythological  period.  Con- 
stantinople was  a  Greek  city,  known  as  Byzantium,  hundreds  of 
years  before  Constantine  rebuilt  it  and  renamed  it,  having  been 
founded  in  the  seventh  century  before  Christ.  The  western  prov- 


NEW  STA TES  OF  THE  BALKAN  PENINSULA,          5 87 

inces  of  European  Turkey  are  called  in  current  books  and  writings 
by  the  names  Thessaly,  Epirus,  and  Macedonia,  which  were  given 
them  by  their  early  Greek  inhabitants.  In  most  of  these  ancient 
Greek  possessions  the  people  of  that  nationality  still  form  the  major 
part  of  the  population,  and  are  the  leaders  of  enterprise.  A  Ger- 
man author,  Fallmerayer,  has  undertaken  to  show  that  the  modern 
Greeks  are  not  the  genuine  descendants  of  the  ancient  people,  but 
are  of  a  mixed  Illyrian  and  Slavic  stock,  who  have  settled  in  the 
Grecian  countries  and  become  Hellenized.  His  view  is  contradicted 
by  all  the  features  of  modern  Greek  life,  which  resemble  in  a  strik- 
ing degree  those  of  the  ancient  Greeks,  and  give  the  most  positive 
testimony  in  favor  of  the  theory  of  a  direct  legitimate  descent.  It 
is  true  that  some  parts  of  the  Grecian  countries  have  been  largely 
colonized  by  Slavs,  and  that  traces  of  their  settlement  have  been 
left  in  some  of  the  local  names  and  in  a  few  Slavic  traits  which 
survive.  But,  even  in  these  instances,  it  is  the  Greeks  who  have 
absorbed  the  Slavs.  The  type  is  predominantly  Greek,  and  the 
Slavic  features  which  have  been  retained  are  only  those  survivals  of 
casual  peculiarities  which  seem  always  to  remain  when  one  people 
have  been  for  a  long  time  associated  with  another,  as  historical  me- 
mentoes of  the  contact. 

The  West  owes  a  reparation  to  the  Greeks  and  to  Christianity  for 
allowing  them  to  be  driven  out  of  Constantinople.  The  Turks  might 
have  been  repelled  and  driven  back  into  Asia  on  several  occasions 
had  the  Western  States  combined  to  assist  the  Emperors;  but  the 
selfish  interests  and  religious  jealousies  of  professedly  Christian  States 
kept  them  aloof,  and  they  coldly  witnessed  the  expulsion  of  their 
fellow-believers  and  the  planting  of  an  anti-Christian  standard  in 
what  had  been  the  stronghold  of  the  faith.  So  strongly  did  re- 
ligious differences  make  themselves  felt,  that  Greek  merchants  visit- 
ing the  Latin  countries,  were  accustomed,  it  is  said,  to  disguise 
themselves  as  Turks  in  order  to  secure  for  themselves  better  treat- 
ment than  they  could  have  received  as  Eastern  Christians.  The 
piratical  expeditions  which  were,  fitted  out  by  the  Christian  knights 
of  those  days  against  the  infidel,  found  their  most  profitable  victims 
in  the  Greek  towns,  which  were  regarded  as  legitimate  spoil  because 
they  belonged  to  the  country  of  the  enemy.  On  the  other  hand, 
Greeks,  as  Christians,  had  to  suffer  in  Mohammedan  countries  for 
the  indignities  which  the  Moors  endured  in  Spain.* 

*  W.  E.  Gladstone,  the  "  Hellenic  Factor." 


588  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

The  Greeks,  in  common  with  the  other  conquered  peoples,  suf- 
fered severely  by  the  exaction  of  the  tribute  of  children  out  of  which 
the  Janissaries  were  formed,  which  depleted  their  manly  vitality  to 
the  lowest  degree  compatible  with  continued  existence.  When  the 
tribute  ceased,  the  people  being  allowed  to  enjoy  their  natural  in- 
crease, immediately  began  to  gain  in  strength  and  determination. 

The  Greeks  exhibited  the  qualities  of  a  brave  maDhood  in  an  emi- 
nent degree  in  their  Revolution.  "  It  was,"  says  Finlay,  who  has 
written  its  history,  u  a  revolution  of  the  people,  in  which  they  ex- 
hibited a  tenacity  and  valor  not  less  than  that  of  the  American  colo- 
nists in  their  famous  revolt."  Mr.  Gladstone  describes  the  revolution- 
ists as  of  "  a  race,  to  whom  as  yet,  except  in  the  Black  Mountain  (or 
Montenegro),  no  equals  in  valor  have  appeared  among  the  enslaved 
populations  of  the  East."  The  people  fought  alone,  too,  for  they 
had  but  few  leaders  and  only  the  assistance  of  individuals  from 
abroad. 

The  people  of  Greece  have  done  remarkably  well  since  they  gained 
their  independence,  especially  when  we  consider  how  small  is  the 
State  in  which  they  have  to  work,  and  remember  that  it  has  been 
only  about  fifteen  years  since  they  have  had  a  Government  that  has 
been  able  to  give  them  any  real  help.  The  cause  of  good  govern- 
ment has  advanced  steadily,  having  been  promoted  rather  than  hin- 
dered by  the  peaceful  revolutions  of  1843  and  1862 ;  respect  for  the 
laws  is  becoming  the  habit  of  the  people,  and  the  kingdom  enjoys  a 
steady  growth  of  population  and  wealth,  the  population  having  in- 
creased from  650,000  in  1834  to  1,238,000  in  1870,  and  the  revenue 
from  $1,375,000  in  1833  to  $3,849,000  in  1873. 

Equally  great  has  been  the  spiritual  advancement  of  the  Greeks. 
The  effort  to  restore  the  spirit  of  the  past,  to  cultivate  its  literature 
and  revive  its  language,  has  been  responded  to  in  a  manner  that 
shows  that  the  people  appreciate  their  high  ancestry,  and  intend  to 
try  to  make  themselves  worthy  of  it.  Strenuous  efforts  have  been 
made  for  the  advancement  of  education,  not  only  within  the  King- 
dom itself,  but  in  all  the  Grecian  districts  of  the  Turkish  Empire. 
While,  in  1830,  there  were  within  the  Kingdom  only  seventy-one 
schools,  with  6,721  scholars,  there  were,  in  187-1,  1,227  primary 
schools,  with  81,449  scholars,  besides  nearly  200  secondary  schools, 
a  university  at  Athens,  and  several  theological  schools  which  are 
under  the  special  care  of  the  clergy.  The  numerous  schools,  both 
primary  and  higher  schools,  established  by  the  Greeks  in  Mace- 


NEW  STATES  OF  THE  BALKAN  PENINSULA.          589 

donia,  Thessaly,  and  Epims — at  all  points  where  there  is  a  consider- 
able Greek  population — are  mentioned  favorably  by  travelers,  and 
are  generally  spoken  of  as  among  the  best  schools  in  the  Empire. 
Seminaries  for  teachers,  furnishing  instruction  quite  equal  to  that 
given  in  the  best  normal  schools  of  Europe,  have  recently  been 
established  in  Macedonia,  whose  pupils  are  already  teaching  in  the 
elementary  schools  of  the  provinces,  greatly  to  the  improvement  of 
the  standard  of  education  among  them.  The  result  is  that  the 
Greeks  in  the  Turkish  provinces,  as  well  as  in  the  Kingdom,  are 
far  advanced  in  literary  culture  beyond  any  of  their  Slavic  neigh- 
bors, and  are  already  well  prepared  to  maintain  an  independent 
sovereignty. 

The  energies  of  the  Greek  nation  are  cramped  by  the  smallness 
of  its  territory,  which  is  not  large  enough  to  give  it  either  the  popu- 
lation or  the  revenues  of  a  really  sovereign  State.  The  reasonable- 
ness of  its  demands  for  expansion  is  generally  conceded,  but,  as 
they  would  involve  an  entire  readjustment  of  the  Eastern  Question, 
it  has  heretofore  been  impracticable  to  grant  them.  Since  such  a 
readjustment  has  been  forced  by  the  course  of  events,  it  will  not  be 
possible  to  evade  answering  them,  whatever  efforts  may  be  exerted 
by  some  of  the  powers  to  preserve  the  Turkish  boundaries  as  the 
treaty  of  San  Stefano  arranged  them.  They  can  be  answered  with 
less  embarrassment  than  those  of  any  other  nationality.  Tho  dis- 
tricts that  Greece  may  claim  are  clearly  marked  out,  and  there  is 
little  occasion  for  dispute  as  to  the  precise  boundaries.  Thessaly, 
Epirus,  and  Southern  Macedonia  and  the  islands — the  predominantly 
Greek  districts  of  Turkey — are  removed  from  the  rivalry  of  the 
Great  Powers,  which  makes  it  so  difficult  to  gratify  the  full  desires 
of  Bosnia,  Servia,  Rumania,  and  Bulgaria.  No  power  could  pre- 
sent any  claim  or  interest  adverse  to  the  complete  fulfillment  of  the 
wishes  of  Greece. 

The  expanded  Kingdom  would  be  extended  over  a  people  who 
desire  its  rule,  and  would  prefer  it  to  any  other.  They  participated 
in  the  Revolution,  and  were  disappointed  when  they  were  shut  out 
from  the  State  to  which  it  gave  birth.  They  have  been  interested 
in  the  progress  of  the  country,  have  sympathized  with  every  move- 
ment which  concerned  it,  and  have  shared  its  intellectual  advance- 
ment. 

The  Greeks  watched  the  wars  of  1876  and  1877  with  interest  and 
sympathy,  without  taking  active  part  in  them.  They  were  re- 


590  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

strained  by  a  sense  of  the  intrinsic  weakness  of  their  State,  and  dis- 
couraged by  the  advice  of  the  friendly  powers,  particularly  of 
England.  Nevertheless,  the  Government  was  active  in  preparation, 
so  as  to  be  in  a  condition  to  take  advantage  of  any  opportunity 
which  might  arise  for  action  with  safety,  and  the  people  in  the 
provinces  kept  bands  under  organization,  ready  to  break  out  into 
insurrection  at  an  auspicious  moment.  A  camp  of  instruction  was 
established  at  Thebes,  under  the  immediate  supervision  of  the  King. 
The  committee  at  Athens,  formed  in  1867  to  assist  the  insurgents 
in  Crete,  was  expanded  into  the  "Pan-Hellenic  Committee,"  and 
sent  emissaries  into  all  parts  of  Turkey,  to  prepare  their  countrymen 
for  a  general  rising,  and  superintended  the  organization  of  skeleton 
bands  in  all  the  provinces,  to  serve  as  the  nucleus  of  an  effective 
force,  to  be  filled  up  when  the  signal  for  the  contemplated  rising 
should  be  given.  It  was  intended  in  1876  that  the  rising  should 
take  place  as  soon  as  the  Servians  should  gain  any  considerable 
victory  over  the  Turks,  and  the  Servians  were  given  assurances  to 
that  effect,  but  their  defeat  prevented  the  fulfillment  of  this  intention. 

Although  the  Grecian  people  continued  agitated  during  the  whole 
of  the  war,  it  was  not  till  the  close  of  January,  1878,  that  the  Gov- 
ernment decided  upon  any  action.  Then,  moved  by  the  pressure 
of  popular  clamor,  and  the  peril  to  which  the  Thessalian  insurrec- 
tionists were  exposed  from  the  barbarity  of  the  Turkish  irregulars, 
it  sent  its  troops  over  the  border,  to  discover  immediately  that  it 
had  committed  a  great  mistake,  since  the  conclusion  of  the  armistice 
with  Russia  had  left  the  Turks  free  to  send  their  whole  force  against 
the  offending  State.  The  Government  then  appealed  to  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  powers  for  an  assurance  of  protection,  which  was 
given,  with  the  promise  that  the  Greek  question  would  be  submitted 
to  the  conference  of  the  powers  about  to  be  assembled. 

The  Slavic  population  in  these  provinces  who  would  prefer  some 
other  Government  than  a  Greek  one,  is  comparatively  small.  The 
Greeks  number  in  all  European  Turkey  about  1,120,000  souls,  or  thir- 
teen per  cent,  of  the  whole  population  ;  but  in  the  Greek  provinces,  in 
the  parts  of  Southern  Rumelia  which  are  excluded  from  the  new 
Bulgaria,  and  in  the  islands  of  the  Archipelago,  they  include  nearly 
all  the  inhabitants,  so  that  their  valid  claim  includes  all  that  is  left 
of  European  Turkey  south  of  Albania  and  the  boundaries  of  the 
new  Bulgaria.  They  are  also  fast  occupying  the  seaports  and  coasts 
of  Asia  Minor,  from  which  the  Turks  are  steadily  retiring  before 


NEW  STATES  OF  THE  BALKAN  PENINSULA.          591 

their  steady  increase ;  and  no  doubt  can  exist  that  a  vigorous  Greek 
kingdom  in  Europe  would  soon  find  a  legitimate  field  of  expansion 
in  replanting  the  wastes  of  those  once  wealthy  regions,  furnishing 
an  enterprising  population  of  tradesmen  and  farmers  to  replace  the 
indolent  and  imbecile  Turks,  substituting  good  government  for  Otto- 
man misrule,  and  restoring  to  civilization  those  provinces  of  the 
East  which  the  ancient  Greeks  covered  with  the  splendor  of  their 
best  achievements  in  literature  and  the  arts.  The  Greeks  have  a 
capacity  for  assimilating  and  absorbing  other  peoples,  which  has  been 
approved  in  hundreds  of  instances  in  the  course  of  their  history,  and 
which  is  now  manifesting  itself  upon  the  Slavic  peoples  wherever 
the  two  races  come  in  contact  in  Turkey.  The  Greek  language  is 
spreading  at  the  expense  of  other  languages,  as  in  Albania  and  in 
some  of  the  Slavic  districts,  where  it  is  extensively  spoken.  The 
Greeks  are  able  also  to  exert  a  great  influence  through  their  power 
in  the  Greek  Church,  which  embraces  all  the  nationalities  of  Eastern 
Europe,  the  Patriarch  and  all  the  heads  of  the  Church  at  Constan- 
tinople, having  always  been  and  still  being  of  Grecian  nationality. 
The  fierceness  of  the  ecclesiastical  struggle  which  lately  prevailed  in 
Bulgaria  affords  the  strongest  possible  testimony  to  the  aggressive- 
ness of  the  Grecian  character,  its  tenacity  in  pursuing  its  purposes, 
and  the  difficulty  with  which  its  influence  is  overcome.  All  of  these 
qualities  will  serve  them  well  in  moulding  the  people  into  a  com- 
pact political  and  social  organization. 

The  hostility  which  is  alleged  to  exist  between  the  Greeks  and 
Slavs  is  more  apparent  than  real.  Their  interests  are  diverse,  but 
not  opposed.  Each  seeks  the  freedom  of  its  own  nationality,  but 
has  no  possible  interest  in  opposing  the  success  of  the  other ;  only 
naturally,  neither  is  willing  that  either  should  prevail  at  the  expense 
of  the  other.  The  attitude  of  the  Greeks  toward  the  Servian 
nation  in  its  last  struggle  for  independence  was  clearly  defined  and 
defended  by  Mr.  Contostavlos,  the  Grecian  Minister  of  Foreign  Af- 
fairs, in  an  address  which  he  delivered  in  the  National  Chamber  of 
Deputies  in  November,  1876.  He  said  that  the  Greeks  had  no 
hostility  to  that  people,  since  they,  like  the  Servians,  were  Christian, 
and  their  whole  people  were  formerly,  as  some  of  them  were  still, 
subject,  like  the  Servians,  to  the  Ottoman  yoke  and  liable  to  the 
same  oppressions;  but  the  question  was  not  one  of  sympathy,  but 
of  action,  and  in  this  the  policy  of  good  sense  rather  than  that  of 
sentiment  ought  to  be  followed. 


592  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

The  justice  of  the  Grecian  claims  is  generally  recognized.  Even 
those  who  are  most  exclusively  devoted  to  the  advancement  of  Slavic 
interests  do  not  dispute  them.  "While  not  much  attention  has  ap- 
parently been  given  them  officially,  they  have  been  quite  widely 
discussed  in  an  informal  manner,  and  have  received  favorable  at- 
tention. 

Signor  Crispi,  President  of  the  Italian  Chamber  of  Deputies, 
visited  several  of  the  Continental  capitals  during  October,  1877,  on 
what  was  generally  supposed  to  be  a  serai-official  mission  on  behalf 
of  his  Government.  At  Pesth,  he  declared  to  a  number  of  deputies 
that  Italy  was  not  willing  that  Russia  should  solve  the  Eastern 
Question  alone,  but  thought  that  in  case  of  a  Russian  victory  the 
powers  should  join  in  the  settlement.  In  such  an  event,  he  would 
propose  the  formation  of  a  confederation  of  the  South  Slavic  coun- 
tries and  the  extension  of  Greece  to  the  Balkans  as  an  adjustment 
that  would  prevent  a  renewal  of  the  war. 

The  expansion  of  Greece  would  doubtless  be  supported  with  real 
enthusiasm  by  a  large  proportion  of  the  English  people,  who  have 
always  manifested  a  strong  sympathy  with  the  struggles  of  the  gal- 
lant nation,  and  consider  themselves  in  a  certain  sense  its  natural 
protectors.  Mr.  Gladstone  is  a  prominent  advocate  of  the  plan,  and 
presented  a  strong  argument  in  favor  of  it  in  November,  1876,  in 
his  article  on  "  The  Hellenic  Factor  in  the  Eastern  Problem,"  from 
which  we  have  quoted  several  facts.  A  foretaste  of  the  spirit  with 
which  the  people  at  large  would  receive  the  official  agitation  of  the 
question  was  given  in  the  loud  applause  with  which  a  large  audience 
at  Bristol  greeted  the  Liberal  leader,  Mr.  Forster,  in  November,  1877, 
when  referring  to  the  announcements  of  Earl  Derby  and  Earl  Bea- 
consfield  that  "  Her  Majesty's  Government  is  not  prepared  to  wit- 
ness with  indifference  the  passage  into  other  hands  than  those  of  its 
present  possessors  of  a  capital  holding  so  peculiar  and  commanding 
a  position  as  Constantinople."  He  said :  "  "Well,  no  Englishman  could 
view  it  with  indifference.  If  the  war  should  end  with  the  defeat  of 
the  Turks,  I  should  not  look  with  indifference,  but  with  very  great 
pleasure,  on  the  possession  of  Constantinople  by  the  Greeks." 

When,  on  the  occasion  of  the  awkward  situation  occasioned  by  the 
advance  of  the  Grecian  troops  into  Thessaly  simultaneously  with  the 
conclusion  of  the  armistice,  a  deputation  of  Greek  residents  in  Lon- 
don waited  on  Earl  Derby  on  the  5th  of  February,  his  lordship  said 
that  his  sympathies  had  always  been  with  the  Greek  race,  and  read 


NEW  STATES  OF  THE  BALKAN  PENINSULA. 


593 


in  illustration  of  his  position  a  dispatch  of  July  6,  1877",  which  de- 
clared that  England  always  looked  to  the  welfare  of  Greece.  He 
further  said  that  he  would  endeavor  to  obtain  guarantees  for  the 
good  government  of  Turkey's  Hellenic  provinces,  and  would  en- 
deavor at  the  conference  to  prevent  the  predominance  of  Slavs 
over  Greeks. 

The  incorporation  of  the  Greek  provinces  into  an  independent 
State  would  be  an  act  of  justice  which  Europe  owes  in  a  certain 
sense;  would  give  respectable  dimensions  and  stability,  without 
making  it  formidable  to  a  kingdom  which  is  now  insignificant; 
would  contribute  immensely  to  the  material  prosperity  of  the  prov- 
inces affected,  and  to  the  advancement  of  civilization  in  the  East ; 
would  furnish  one  of  the  easiest  and  safest  solutions  of  the  problem 
of  the  disposition  of  Constantinople,  and  is  practicable  and  open  to 
no  reasonable  objection. 


CHAPTER  m. 

THE  NEW   STATES   OF  THE   BALKAN   PENINSULA. 
H.   EUMANIANS   AND   SERVIANS. 

The  Dacia  of  the  Romans — Character  of  the  Ancient  Dacians — The  Roman  Conquest  and 
Colonization — Withdrawal  of  the  Romans — Successive  Tribes  of  Northern  Barbarians 
Occupy  the  Country — The  Bulgarians  and  the  East  Roman  Empire — The  Kingdoms 
of  Wallachia  and  Moldavia — They  become  Tributary,  and  finally  Subject  to  Turkey — 
They  become  semi-independent  and  are  afterward  united  as  Rumania — The  Ru- 
manians and  the  Romans — The  Wallachian,  or  Rumanian  Language — The  Culture 
of  the  Language — Wallachia  in  1835 — Count  Von  Moltke's  Impressions — Marks  of 
Improvement  and  Progress — Agricultxire  and  Manufactures — Jealousy  of  Foreigners 
— The  Nationalities  ip  Rumania — Distribution  of  the  Rumanians  in  Surrounding 
Countries — The  Mistakes  which  the  Rumanians  have  committed — The  Better 
Qualities  of  the  People — The  Hopeful  Prospects  of  the  Country — The  Servian  Na- 
tionality— Its  Numbers  and  Distribution — Education  in  Servia  and  Montenegro — 
Unity  of  Language — The  Communal  Organization  of  Servian  Society— The  National 
Movement  and  the  Omladina — Capacity  of  the  Servians  to  form  a  nation. 

THE  country  of  the  Rumanians  was  known  to  the  ancients  as 
Dacia.  It  first  came  under  notice  in  the  time  of  Alexander  the 
Great,  who  made  war  upon  the  Getae,  the  dwellers  on  the  banks  of 
the  Danube.  Gibbon  describes  the  Dacians  of  five  centuries  after- 
ward as  "  the  most  warlike  of  men,  who  during  the  reign  of  Domi- 
tian  had  insulted  with  impunity  the  majesty  of  Rome."  The  treaty 
which  this  Emperor  was  obliged  to  conclude  with  them,  A.D.  81,  is 
distinguished  as  marking  the  first  occasion  on  which  "  Imperial 
Rome  consented  to  purchase  peace  of  an  enemy."  The  Emperor 
Trajan  conquered  the  country  after  a  war  of  five  years,  in  which 
"  Decebalus,  the  Dacian  King,  approved  himself  a  rival  not  un- 
worthy"  of  his  antagonist,  and  made  it  a  Roman  province,  A.D.  107. 
It  remained  for  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  years  a  prosperous 
Roman  colony.  The  Imperial  rule  was  beneficial  here  as  every- 
where. The  people  were  incorporated  into  Roman  citizenship ;  they 
affiliated  with  the  Roman  settlers.  The  soldiers  built  roads  and 
bridges  and  public  works,  and  the  country  was  happier  than  it  ever 
had  been  before  or  ever  has  been  since.  The  Roman  dominion, 
though  short,  made  a  wonderfully  deep  impression  on  the  manners 
(594) 


NEW  STATES  OF  THE  BALKAN  PENINSULA.          595 

and  customs  of  the  people  and  their  language,  which  has  never  been 
effaced. 

The  Goths  appeared  in  the  country  in  the  third  century,  and  at 
length  became  so  numerous  and  troublesome  that  the  Emperor  Au- 
relian  withdrew  his  legions  and  gave  up  the  province.  A  part  of 
the  settlers  emigrated  to  adjoining  provinces,  a  part  remained.  First 
the  Yisigoths  held  it,  then  the  Ostrogoths  ;  the  latter  were  replaced 
by  the  A'lani  and  Huns,  then  by  the  Avari,  then  by  the  Bulgarians, 
during  whose  rule,  A.D.  861,  Christianity  was  introduced  by  Metho- 
dius. From  the  time  of  the  conquest  of  the  Bulgarian  kingdom  by 
the  Emperor  Yasili  in  1018,  till  1186,  the  country  formed  a  part  of 
the  East-Roman  Empire.  The  second  Bulgarian  kingdom,  founded 
in  the  latter  year,  included  Rumania  during  a  part  of  its  existence. 
An  independent  kingdom  was  founded  in  Wallachia  in  1241.  An- 
other kingdom  was  founded  in  Moldavia  in  1354.  The  Wallachian 
kingdom  became  tributary  to  Turkey  in  1391,  and  was  made  a 
Turkish  province  in  1688,  governed  at  first  by  native  Hospodars, 
but  after  1716  by  Fanariote  (so  the  Greeks  of  Constantinople  were 
called)  Greek  governors  named  by  the  Porte.  Stephen  YL,  the 
Great,  of  Moldavia  (1456-1504),  was  a  prince  of  considerable  dis- 
tinction. He  repelled  the  Tartars  who  invaded  the  land  for  the  first 
time,  waged  war  against  the  Hungarians  and  Poles,  conquered  Bu- 
kowina  and  Wallachia  to  the  borders  of  Servia,  but  was  unfortunate 
in  a  war  against  the  Turks.  His  son,  Bogdan  II.  (1504-1526), 
acknowledged  the  suzerainty  of  the  Turkish  Sultan,  and  Moldavia 
has,  since  his  reign,  been  a  vassal-State  of  Turkey,  and  shared  the 
fate  of  its  fellow  province,  Wallachia.  During  the  last  one  hundred 
years,  Rumania  has  been  a  battle-ground  between  Turkey  and  Rus- 
sia and  Austria.  Its  provinces  have  been  occupied  by  the  armies  o£ 
all  three  powers,  and  have  been  prominent  subjects  of  the  negotia- 
tions between  them.  Austria  has  gained  Bukowina,  Russia  the  dis- 
tricts east  of  the  Pruth  from  Moldavia.  The  Treaty  of  Paris,  in 
1856,  gave  to  Moldavia  and  Wallachia  the  condition  of  semi-inde- 
pendence under  the  suzerainty  of  the  Porte  and  the  protection  of 
the  powers,  under  which  they  achieved  a  union  in  1859,  despite  the 
object  n  of  the  Sultan,  into  the  principality  of  Rumania,  and  from 
which  the  united  principality,  supported  by  the  moral  force  of  a 
Russian  alliance,  rose  to  independence  in  May,  1877. 

It  would  be  hard  to  define  exactly  what  the  Rumanians  are. 
Judging  from  their  history,  they  are  among  the  most  mixed  of 
32 


596  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

races.  Their  country  has  been  occupied,  since  the  Romans  left  it, 
by  a  half-dozen  barbarous  tribes,  ending  with  the  Slavs,  most  of 
which  came  more  numerously  than  the  Romans,  and  some  of  which 
held  it  much  longer  than  they  did.  Yet  during  all  their  fluctuations 
it  has  been  the  pride  of  the  people  to  call  themselves  Romans — Ru- 
mani — and  to  speak  a  Roman  language.  Their  most  marked  feat- 
ures are  Roman,  and  of  all  modern  languages  the  Italian  is  most 
like  theirs.  In  this  persistence  to  the  Roman  type,  they  present  a 
curious  contrast  to  the  Bulgarians,  so  tenacious  in  other  respects  of 
their  national  life,  for  while  the  Bulgarians  became  Slavic  under 
Slavic  influences,  they  have  escaped  foreign  impressions. 

Some  writers  have  urged  that  the  Wallachian  or  Rumanian  lan- 
guage is  a  Slavic  tongue,  and  have  been  able  to  cite  a  considerable 
number  of  Slavic  words  in  support  of  their  view.  It  likewise  con- 
tains German,  and  Greek,  and  Magyar,  and  other  words  of  foreign 
origin.  It  could  hardly  fail  to  present  many  evidences  of  admix- 
ture, after  such  a  number  of  different  races  have  occupied  the  coun- 
try. The  body  of  the  language  is,  however,  unquestionably  Latin, 
and  its  resemblance  to  the  Italian  can  hardly  fail  to  strike  one  who 
is  acquainted  with  the  latter  at  the  first  sight.  Its  alphabet,  how- 
ever, is  of  Slavic  origin.  It  was  reduced  to  writing  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  and  given  the  characters  called  Cyrillic,  because  they  were 
invented  by  Cyril,  which  are  similar  to  those  of  the  modern  Russian. 
The  Cyrillic  alphabet  continued  in  use  until  1847,  when  it  gave 
way  to  an  alphabet  composed  entirely  of  Roman  characters.  The 
Slavic  language  was  encouraged  by  the  clergy  during  the  period  of 
Slavic  predominance,  but  in  1643  Prince  George  Rakoczky  ordered 
the  archbishop  to  preach  to  the  Rumanians  in  their  own  language. 
Greek  became  the  fashionable  language  under  the  Greek  governors 
appointed  by  the  Porte,  while  the  Rumanian  continued  to  be  spoken 
by  the  people,  and  has  only  supplanted  the  Greek  among  the  higher 
classes  within  the  present  century,  The  first  Rumanian  books 
appeared  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  in  the  shape 
of  translations  of  the  Church  books  and  sacred  writings.  The 
growth  of  the  native  literature  has  been  slow,  and  has  been  exhib- 
ited principally  in  the  field  of  lyric  poetry. 

A  movement  for  the  restoration  of  the  ancient  speech  was  begun 
in  1815,  and  has  been  prosecuted  with  vigor.  The  change  from  the 
Cyrillic  to  the  Roman  alphabet  has  not  been  entirely  settled  yet,  so 
that  the  spelling  is  still  quite  uncertain.  Many  foreign  terms  have 


NEW  STATES  OF  THE  BALKAN  PENINSULA.          597 

been  cast  out  and  replaced  by  words  chosen  from  the  ancient  Latin 
or  modern  Italian.  The  Rumanian  Academy  was  established  in 
1871  for  the  purpose  of  regulating  the  language  and  settling  the 
orthography.  It  is  preparing  a  grammar  and  a  dictionary  which 
will  become  the  standards  of  the  nation,  and  proposes  as  the  result 
of  its  efforts  to  restore  in  its  purity  a  speech  which  those  who  use  it 
boast  is  the  oldest  of  the  languages  now  spoken,  which  were  derived 
originally  and  directly  from  that  of  the  Romans. 

The  Rumanians  are  passionately  fond  of  poetry,  and  their  list  of 
writers  of  songs  and  romances  is  quite  numerous.  The  language, 
being  soft  and  musical,  is  well  adapted  to  the  lighter  styles  of  verse. 
They  have  but  little  as  yet  to  show  in  prose  or  in  works  of  learning, 
but  offer  the  names  of  three  prominent  historians  and  two  gram- 
matists,  besides  several  writers  who  have  translated  works  from 
other  languages.  For  dramatic  works  they  are  likewise  indebted  to 
translations.  Their  three  principal  journals  are  published  at  Bu- 
charest, Jassy,  and  Galatz. 

Count  Yon  Moltke,  the  great  German  General,  traveled  through 
"Wallachia  in  1835,  and  recorded  a  very  unfavorable  impression  of 
the  condition  of  the  country.  It  had  then  been  only  partly  extricated 
from  Turkish  despotism,  having  been  for  five  years  under  a  kind 
of  double  dependence  upon  Turkey  and  Russia,  and  the  Count  re- 
garded it  particularly  with  reference  to  its  prospects  for  future 
development.  The  appearance  of  the  land,  he  said,  bore  fearful 
evidence  of  a  long  servitude.  The  cities  lay  half  in  ruins,  or  were 
of  earthen  houses,  the  villages  were  hidden  in  the  valleys  as  if  the 
people  had  sought  protection  in  poverty  and  concealment,  and  were 
without  gardens,  fruit  trees,  or  churches,  and  "  one  might  say  with- 
out houses,  for  the  latter  are  sunk  in  the  ground  and  covered  only 
with  a  roof  of  boughs."  One  might,  at  that  time,  travel  whole 
days  without  seeing  a  farmstead,  a  mill,  an  inn,  an  avenue,  a 
bridge,  or  a  castle.  The  land  was  destitute  of  trees ;  the  Boyars 
lived  in  the  towns,  where  were  all  the  churches,  of  which  the  rural 
parts  of  the  country  had  none.  The  "Wallachs  had  a  fine  appear- 
ance, but  the  Turkish  yoke  had  completely  debased  them,  and 
accustomed  to  make  the  least  suffice  for  themselves,  they  knew 
nothing  of  the  wants  of  other  nations,  dreaded  want  less  than  labor, 
the  constraint  of  civilization  more  than  the  misery  of  barbarism. 
"  From  the  present  generation,"  said  Yon  Moltke,  "  little  is  to  be 
expected." 


598  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

To-day  finds  the  country  with  an  awakened  national  spirit,  en- 
joying a  government  under  a  wise  Prince  of  one  of  the  ablest  houses 
of  Europe,  whose  effectiveness  is  well  shown  by  the  honorable 
record  which  its  soldiers  made  for  themselves  before  Plevna.  The 
people,  their  more  enlightened  leaders  at  least,  are  occupied  with 
schemes  for  the  improvement  of  the  country,  for  the  spread  of 
education,  the  encouragement  of  literature,  the  development  of  na- 
tional industries,  and  the  construction  of  works  of  improvement. 

Education  has  made  considerable  progress  within  twenty  years, 
but  much  remains  to  be  done.  The  law  contemplates  a  school  in 
every  town  of  more  than  fifty  families.  The  provision  of  the 
schools,  though  still  deficient,  is  likely  to  become  ample  in  a  short 
time  under  the  operation  of  the  compulsory  law  which  was  passed 
in  1864:.  Some  of  the  higher  schools  are  of  excellent  character,  but 
the  tendency  to  superficiality  and  the  preference  of  the  showy  to 
the  substantial,  which  many  of  the  private  schools  exhibit,  displays 
one  of  the  weak  points  of  the  people,  a  point  which  is  still  further 
displayed  in  the  devotion  to  Parisian  fashions  and  gayeties,  and  the 
copying  of  the  frivolities  of  Parisian  life,  which  are  among  the  most 
marked  characteristics  of  their  capitals. 

Rumania  is  predominantly  an  agricultural  countiy.  It  enjoys  a 
climate  and  a  soil  favorable  to  the  most  profitable  culture,  but  has 
neither  the  capital  nor  the  adaptability  of  its  people  to  engage 
largely  in  manufactures.  The  Rumanians  do  not  incline  to  indus- 
trial arts.  They  leave  common  trades  to  foreigners  and  gypsies, 
and  themselves,  when  educated,  seek  the  learned  professions,  which 
are  consequently,  especially  that  of  the  law,  overcrowded.  The 
Government  has  made  efforts  to  build  up  and  encourage  manufac- 
turing enterprises,  with  only  a  small  degree  of  success,  and  this 
branch  of  national  growth  has  been,  so  far,  marked  rather  by  what 
has  been  tried  and  failed  than  by  what  has  been  accomplished.  The 
railroad  enterprises  which  had  been  undertaken  suffered  a  great  shock 
by  the  defalcation  of  Dr.  Strousberg,  but  they  have  been  continued, 
and  the  country  is  now  better  supplied  with  railroads  than  any  other 
part  of  the  Turkish  dominions. 

One  of  the  drawbacks  to  the  progress  of  the  people  is  their 
jealousy  of  foreigners.  It  is  shown  in  their  laws,  which  exclude 
foreigners  from  all  official  and  public  functions,  and  make  natural- 
ization difficult.  It  is  particularly  shown  in  the  persecutions  to 
which  the  Jews  are  exposed,  and  which  occupy  the  multitude  to 


NEW  STATES  OF  THE  BALKAN  PENINSULA,          599 

such  an  extent  that  a  native  of  the  country  told  Carl  Braun,  the 
traveler,  that  the  Jewish  Question  was  the  only  one  the  populace 
really  cared  about.  A  country  which  is  wholly  dependent  upon 
foreigners  and  their  capital  for  the  development  of  industrial  enter- 
prises can  not  expect  to  receive  the  benefits  which  it  requires  and 
should  derive  from  them  while  it  is  thus  intolerant  of  them. 

More  than  four-fifths  (4,293,000  out  of  5,073,000)  of  the  popula- 
tion are  Rumanians.  They  are  called  Wallachs  by  the  Germans,  but 
themselves  acknowledge  no  name  but  the  one,  Rumani,  that  points 
out  their  Roman  origin.  Next  to  them  are  the  Jews,  400,000, 
whom  they  hate,  because,  as  one  of  the  national  newspapers  says, 
they  do  not  cease  to  be  a  caste  and  become  one  with  the  people  of 
the  country.  Next  in  order  are  Gypsies  (200,000),  Russians  and 
Slavs,  Austrians,  Hungarians,  and  a  dozen  other  nationalities,  num- 
bering each  less  than  ten  thousand.  A  peculiar  feature  in  the 
distribution  of  the  population  for  a  Turkish  country  is  the  small 
number  of  Turks,  who,  together  with  the  Tartars,  do  not  number 
more  than  2,700;  and  it  is  remarked  that  the  Turks  have  never 
ventured  to  make  a  settlement  in  any  large  numbers  north  of  the 
Danube.  By  religions,  4,529,000  belong  to  the  Greek  Church, 
114,200  to.  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and  13,800  are  Protestants. 
But  the  Rumanians  are  not  all  in  the  present  Rumania.  They  are 
diffused  over  the  whole  of  the  former  Dacia,  occupy  half  the 
Austrian  province  of  Bukowina,  where  they  number  more  than  two 
hundred  thousand,  form  more  than  half  (1,206,900)  the  population 
of  Transylvania,  and  number  more  than  a  million  in  Hungary 
proper,  more  than  2,685,600  in  all  Austria  and  Hungary,  and  are 
largely  represented  in  the  Dobrudja  and  in  other  parts  of  Turkey. 
They  also  form  a  large  proportion  of  the  population  of  Russian  Bes- 
sarabia. 

Rumania  thus  has  the  population  of  a  considerable  State.  It  is 
not  an  unhomogeneous  population  when  compared  with  that  of 
Austria  and  Hungary,  although  it  contains  diverse  and  some  an- 
tagonistic elements,  for  the  Rumanians  so  outnumber  all  the  others 
as  to  be  able  to  have  their  way  with  but  little  friction.  It  has  also 
an  established  government,  which  has  created  many  of  the  agencies 
and  some  of  the  resources  of  an  independent  State ;  and  it  was  sub- 
stantially independent  before  the  war  began. 

The  Rumanians  believe,  the  same  as  the  Slavs  and  the  Greeks 
believe  of  their  nationalities,  that  the  future  of  the  East  belongs  to 


6oo  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

them.  It  can  not  be  said  that  the  prospect  of  their  realizing  this 
belief  is  as  good  as  those  of  some  of  their  neighbors.  "With  the 
same  opportunities,  they  have  not  made  as  much  progress  as  the 
Servians.  They  have  not  equalled  the  Bulgarians  in  stolid  tenacity 
of  purpose,  and  have  fallen  short  of  the  preference  that  that  people 
have  displayed  for  the  solid  in  education  over  the  superficial ;  and 
they  have  not  the  activity  and  versatility  of  the  Greeks.  They 
have  made  mistakes  at  the  start  of  the  race,  which  Carl  Braun  has 
described  by  comparing  them  to  one  who  prefers  the  appearance  to 
the  reality,  or  to  one  who  adorns  the  top  of  a  pyramid,  instead  of 
repairing  its  base.  This  writer,  criticising  their  course  and  tenden- 
cies with  some  severity,  says  that  efforts  should  begin  at  the  bottom, 
rather  than  at  the  top ;  that  they  should  be  less  political  and  more 
administrative  and  for  amelioration ;  that  the  State  should  hold 
itself  not  exclusive,  but  receptive,  of  foreigners ;  that  it  should  be 
concerned  more  for  the  Sergeant  than  for  the  General,  for  the  vil- 
lage schoolmaster  than  for  the  academical  teacher ;  should  not  seek 
the  acquisition  of  territory,  but,  first  of  all,  the  improvement  of  the 
circumstances  of  the  interior ;  should  not  indulge  in  a  vain  pursuit 
after  the  grandeur  of  the  Romans  and  the  wit  of  the  French,  but 
should  cultivate  public  spirit  and  rural  industry. 

It  would  not  be  fair,  however,  to  apply  to  the  people  of  the  whole 
country  these  descriptions  of  the  fashionable  life  of  the  capitals, 
whose  vain  notions  and  faults  have  been  gained  mostly  through  the 
limited  intercourse  which  they  have  held  with  Western  society,  of 
which,  like  most  copyists,  they  have  imitated  the  most  frivolous 
features,  omitting  the  solid  traits  and  the  refinements.  The  moral 
tone  of  Bucharest  was  higher  than  it  is  before  this  took  place.  The 
traits  of  the  national  character,  says  a  recent  writer,  have  become 
gradually  effaced  among  the  residents  of  the  capital,  and  "the 
Bucharest  dandies  are  in  no  sense  representatives  of  the  Rumanian 
people."  The  true  representatives  are  to  be  found  among  the  high- 
landers  of  the  Carpathians,  "  who  continue  to  adhere  to  the  ancestral 
worship  and  traditions,  and  who  are  probably  capable  of  indefinite 
development."  "At  present,  the  character  of  the  peasants  is  in  an 
embryo  condition.  Its  prominent  features  are  a  disinclination  to 

exertion  and  a  dislike  to  cold  water Their  want  of  energy 

and  of  ambition  are  attributable,  to  a  great  extent,  to  the  untoward 
circumstances  in  which  they  have  found  themselves  for  generations. 
The  change  of  masters — within  forty  years  Wallachia  has  had 


NEW  STATES  OF  THE  BALKAN  PENINSULA.          6oi 

seventy  Princes— has  not  relieved  the  peasant  from  the  burdens 
imposed  upon  him,  not  merely  by  the  invading  foreigner,  but  also 
by  the  upper  classes  of  his  own  country.  He  plods  on  in  a  hopeless 
kind  of  fashion,  for  he  is  liable  at  any  time  to  have  his  wretched 
belongings  seized,  and  he  is  aware  that  the  benefits  of  his  labor 
will,  in  any  case,  be  reaped  by  others."* 

A  fair  judgment  of  the  prospects  of  the  country,  weighing  both 
sides,  is  given  by  Carl  Braun  in  his  "  Turkish  Journey,"f  who  says : 
"  It  is  a  country  of  extraordinary  richness,  to  whose  growth  and 
development  nothing  is  wanting  but  the  provision  of  the  necessary 
capital,  and  the  requisite  number  of  industrious  and  intelligent 
men.  Both,  capital  and  men,  will  be  furnished  when  Rumania — 
and  the  time  when  this  is  done  can  be  determined  by  itself — enters 
the  family  of  European  States  and  peoples  as  a  full  member.  For 
this,  it  must  be  understood  that  the  State  shall  assure  the  freest  pos- 
sible circulation  of  men  and  goods,  shall  give  up  its  idiosyncrasies 
against  foreigners  as  an  offering  to  the  genius  of  culture  and  civiliza- 
tion, and  shall  take  part  in  international  rivalries  and  the  division 
of  labor.  The  native  population  is  gifted,  and  adapted  to  culture 
down  to  the  lowest  grades,  but  it  needs  the  spur  of  competition  and 
the  firm  support  of  a  general,  gratuitous,  compulsory  popular  edu- 
cation of  a  solid  character."  Rudolf  Henke,  who  is  the  author  of 
a  special  work  on  Rumania,;}:  the  first  that  has  appeared,  says: 
"  Rumania  is  a  land  of  the  future,  which  will  be  able  to  reach  its 
full  bloom  as  soon  as  the  hinderances  which  now  stand  in  its  way  are 
removed.  From  a  small,  obscure  beginning,  it  has  advanced  to  be 
a  respectable  State  of  the  middle  rank,  and,  averaging  its  qualities, 
stands,  in  respect  to  size,  population,  finances,  and  civilization,  as 
about  the  twelfth  or  fourteenth  of  the  twenty-three  States  of 
Europe.  In  spite  of  its  having  been  till  now  a  vassal-State  of  Tur- 
key, it  has  reached  the  same  grade  of  culture,  if  it  has  not  attained 
a  higher  one,  as  Spain,  Portugal,  and  Greece,  to  say  nothing  of 
Turkey,  and  but  little  lower  than  Italy,  Russia,  and  the  non-Ger- 
man provinces  of  Austria."  This  picture  is  somewhat  over-colored,, 
but  it  represents  the  view  of  a  man  who  has  probably  given  the; 


*  Pall  Mall  Gazette.    Review  of  Florence  K.  Berger's  "  Winter  in  the  City  of  Pleasure."' 

March,  1877. 

t  "Eiue  TiYrkische  Reise,"  von  Carl  Braun.     Weisbaden,  Stuttgart,  1876. 

\  "  Rumanien ;  Land  und  Volk,  etc."    Geschildert  von  Rudolf  Henke.    Leipsic,  1877. . 


632  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

condition  of  the  country  more  special  attention  than  any  other 
author. 

The  mind  of  the  people,  and  especially  of  the  young  men,  has 
suffered,  in  the  abnormal  condition  of  the  country,  for  the  lack  01 
healthy  stimulus.  Full  independence  will  introduce  national  objects 
and  motives  for  political  activity,  giving  serious  objects  to  be  sought, 
and  positions  of  honor  and  responsibility  to  be  struggled  for,  and  a 
regeneration  of  the  nation  and  a  development  and  strengthening 
of  the  better  qualities  of  the  people  can  hardly  fail  to  take  place 
under  its  influence. 

The  principality  has  much  to  expect  from  its  chief,  who,  a  near 
relative  of  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  and  trained  in  the  traditions 
and  usages  of  a  princely  house  which  is  distinguished  for  its  far- 
sighted  intelligence  and  administrative  ability,  has  devoted  himself 
to  the  interests  of  the  country,  and  will  spare  no  labors  to  remedy 
its  defects  and  increase  its  advantages  and  resources.  The  much 
that  he  has  already  done  in  reforms  and  measures  for  consolidating 
the  character  and  strength  of  the  nation,  warrant  the  belief  that  he 
will  accomplish  much  more  now  that  he  is  relieved  of  the  impedi- 
ment of  vassalage  to  a  barbarian  master.  Under  his  skillful  guidance, 
the  people,  encouraged  by  their  newly-won  liberty,  and  who  are 
earnestly  seeking  a  genuine  national  development,  may  be  expected 
to  adopt  an  enlightened  course,  and  start  upon  the  career  which 
nature  has  indicated  that  they  should  adopt.  While  Bulgaria 
promises  to  excel  in  manufactures  and  special  industries,  and  Greece 
in  trade,  Rumania  is  marked  to  become  a  great  farming  State,  while 
the  intellectual  tendencies  and  aesthetic  tastes  of  the  people  promise 
for  them  a  national  character  not  unlike  that  of  the  French. 

The  Servians  constitute  nearly  the  entire  populations  of  the  princi- 
palities of  Montenegro  and  Servia,  as  well  as  of  the  Turkish  provinces 
of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina.  Thus  the  whole  north-west  of  European 
Turkey  is  inhabited  by  people  speaking  one  language,  though 
politically  they  are  designated  by  different  names.  Crossing  the 
northern  and  north-western  frontier  of  Turkey,  we  find  large  portions 
of  Austrian  territory  occupied  by  the  same  people.  They  constitute 
95  per  cent,  of  the  population  in  the  former  kingdom  of  Croatia  and 
Slavonia ;  90  per  cent,  in  Dalmatia,  and  80  per  cent,  in  the  former 
military  frontier.  Thus  the  Servian  language  is  spoken  by  a  com- 
pact population,  numbering  more  than  6,000,000  persons,  and  occu- 
pying a  territory  of  about  69,000  square  miles,  or  of  an  extent 


NEW  STATES  OF  THE  BALKAN  PENINSULA.          603 

equalling  the  aggregate  area  of  the  States  of  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  and  Massachusetts.  If  we  add  to  this 
the  land  of  the  nearly  kindred  tribes  of  the  Slovens  (also  called 
Sloventzi  or  Winds),  who  are  the  predominating  race  in  the  Austrian 
crownland  of  Carniola,  and  in  large  portions  of  Styria,  Carinthia,  and 
the  Littoral,  and  who  are  in  profound  sympathy  with  the  movements 
among  the  Servians  and  the  Oroatians,  we  obtain  for  this  people  an 
aggregate  area  of  nearly  80,000  square  miles,  and  a  population  of 
about  seven  and  one-half  millions.  For  more  than  a  thousand  years 
they  are  known  to  have  lived  in  the  countries  which  they  still  hold. 
They  have  been  unsuccessful  in  their  struggles  against  the  more 
powerful  and  more  progressive  nations  by  which  they  are  surrounded ; 
the  independence  of  their  national  Empire  has  been  destroyed  by 
the  Turks,  Magyars,  and  Germany ;  they  have  hardly  been  touched 
by  the  wonderful  progress  of  civilization  and  literature  which  marks 
the  last  century  of  the  history  of  Central  and  "Western  Europe ;  and 
some  portion  of  their  territory  belongs  to  the  most  illiterate  countries 
of  Europe.  But  in  spite  of  their  ignorance,  and  in  spite  of  all 
oppressions,  they  have  clung,  with  wonderful  tenacity,  to  their 
language.  The  Austrians,  and  more  recently  the  Hungarians,  have 
tried  to  Germanize  and  Magyarize  the  Servian  tribes  of  the  Austrian 
Empire  by  giving  them  better  schools  and  a  higher  class  of  literature  ; 
but  these  efforts,  while  awakening  among  them  a  thirst  for  literary 
culture,  have,  at  the  same  time,  greatly  strengthened  their  devotion 
to  their  own  native  language  and  their  desire  to  develop  a  national 
literature.  The  revolutionary  year,  1848,  greatly  favored  their 
national  tendencies.  The  Government  of  Yienna,  for  a  time,  needed 
the  aid  of  the  Croatians  against  the  Hungarians,  and  deemed  it  wise 
policy  to  favor  as  much  as  possible  the  aspirations  of  the  Croatian 
nationalists. 

In  Turkey,  the  Servian  race  has  been  greatly  benefited  by  the 
actual  independence  which  the  principality  of  Servia  has  been  able 
to  re-establish.  The  Government  of  this  little  country  has  shown 
a  laudable  zeal  for  promoting  education  and  endeavoring  to  raise  it 
to  a  level  with  the  most  advanced  countries.  Fifty  years  ago,  Servia 
had  no  public  primary  school.  Now  a  complete  system  of  public 
education  has  been  established,  and  for  its  management  a  special 
Ministry  of  Education  has  been  organized.  Education  is  compul- 
sory, and  is  free  to  all,  in  the  highest  as  well  as  in  the  lowest  schools. 
In  1874,  there  were  517  public  schools,  with  23,278  pupils.  In 


604  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

comparison  with  the  other  States  of  Europe,  this  result  is  still  very 
unsatisfactory,  for  it  shows  that  Servia  has,  as  yet,  only  17  pupils  to 
every  1,000  inhabitants,  while  Switzerland  has  155,  and  the  German 
Empire,  153,  and  it  is  still  inferior  to  eveiy  Christian  country  of 
Europe  except  Russia,  which  has  only  14  pupils  to  1,000  inhabitants. 
But  the  enforcement  of  the  compulsory  attendance  law  can  hardly 
fail  soon  to  raise  it  higher  in  the  scale  of  European  nations.  In 
1830,  the  first  gymnasium  was  established,  and  now  the  principality 
has  two  complete  gymnasia  and  five  progymnasia,  with  an  aggregate 
attendance  of  2,000  students.  The  course  of  the  Servian  gymnasia 
embraces  seven  classes,  which  are  instructed  in  religion,  the  Servian, 
Latin,  French,  and  German  languages,  history,  geography,  mathe- 
mathics,  natural  history,  physics,  drawing,  and  gymnastic  exercises. 
A  normal  school  has  been  in  successful  operation  since  1872.  Tho 
high-school  in  Belgrade  contains  three  faculties,  and  has  about  200 
students.  The  little  principality  of  Montenegro  has  of  late  made 
similar  efforts  to  organize  a  complete  system  of  public  instruction. 
Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  have  hitherto  been  in  a  most  deplorable 
condition,  but  they  may  now  be  expected  to  enter  into  a  lively  com 
petition  with  the  people  of  Servia  and  Montenegro,  with  whom  they 
are  so  intimately  connected  by  the  strongest  bonds  of  affinity  and 
sympathy. 

The  Servians  of  all  the  different  denominations  in  Austria  and 
Turkey — Servians,  Bosnians,  Herzegovinians,  Montenegrins,  Croa- 
tians,  Slavonians,  Dalmatians,  Slovenes — are  only  now  awakening 
to  the  full  significance  of  the  fact,  that  the  common  language  they 
speak  makes  them  joint  members  of  one  nationality.  Like  many 
other  nationalities,  they  have  been,  and  still  are,  divided  by  religious 
differences.  Almost  the  entire  population  of  the  principalities  of 
Servia  and  Montenegro,  the  majority  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina, 
belong  to  the  Greek  Church,  while  the  Austrian  Servians  are  more 
equally  divided  between  the  Greek  and  Roman  Catholic  Church. 
A  considerable  number  of  the  Bosnians  are  also  Roman  Catholics, 
and  a  large  portion  of  the  wealthier  classes  of  Bosnians  have  even 
become  Mohammedans.  The  Servians  of  the  Greek  Church,  like 
the  other  Slavs  of  that  faith,  have  been  drawn  more  and  more  into 
close  relations  with  Russia,  while  those  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  have  begun  to  show  a  stronger  dislike  to  Russia  than  to 
Turkey.  The  Catholic  Bosnians  kept  aloof  from  the  insurrectionary 
movements  of  18Y6,  and  it  was  reported  that  several  young  priests 


NEW  STATES  OF  THE  BALKAN  PENINSULA.          605 

who  had  betrayed  some  sympathy  with  the  national  cause,  had  been 
sent  out  of  the  country  by  their  superiors.  The  Mohammedans, 
whose  social  prerogatives  are  so  closely  interwoven  with  the  Turkish 
rule,  are  of  course  the  most  fanatical  opponents  of  any  aspiration  for 
the  independence  and  political  progress  of  the  Servian  nationality. 
But  even  these  Mohammedans  have  preserved  the  use  of  their 
Servian  language  to  the  present  day.  Yea,  being  the  richest  class 
in  the  Servian  nationality,  they  speak  their  language  with  a  greater 
purity  than  the  Christians  of  Bosnia. 

The  social  organization  among  the  Servians  is  peculiar.  It  was 
originally  based  in  all  Slavic  nations  upon  the  principle  of  the  Com- 
munity, as  is  strikingly  exemplified  in  one  form  by  the  Russian  Mir. 
The  same  principle  in  another  shape  underlies  the  Zadruga,  or 
household  association  of  the  Southern  Slavs,  which,  as  we  have 
described  it  in  a  previous  chapter,  is  the  characteristic  family  organi- 
zation of  the  Servians.  The  organization  has  undergone  modifications 
and  a  decline  among  the  Austrian  Slavs,  and  has  been  compelled  by 
the  stress  of  circumstances  to  give  way  to  a  form  of  individual  life 
among  the  Montenegrins,  and  in  the  towns,  and  it  has  been  assailed 
by  recent  legislation,  but  it  still  prevails  among  the  agricultural 
population  of  Servia.  The  several  families  who  form  the  house- 
hold, who  may  be  supposed  to  have  already  some  bond  of  con- 
nection, as  blood  relationship  or  inherited  association,  are  united 
into  free  associations,  which  bear  different  names  in  the  different 
countries,  and  in  which  each  member  subordinates  his  private  inter- 
ests to  that  of  the  community,  without  being  absorbed  in  it.  A  head 
is  chosen  by  the  community,  who  is  a  president,  not  a  ruler,  but 
whose  consent  is  required  for  undertakings  of  more  than  ordinary 
importance.  The  people  are  strongly  attached  to  this  communal  or- 
ganization, and  many  of  their  proverbs  show  how  entirely  it  has  be- 
come a  part  of  their  ideal  of  life.  "  In  Herzegovina,  it  is  claimed 
that  poverty  never  arrives  until  after  the  dissolution  of  the  commu- 
nities." "Nothing  can  be  more  beautiful,"  says  Yankovitch  and 
Gruitch,  in  their  "  Les  Slaves  du  Sud,"  "  than  to  live  in  a  Servian 
family,  nothing  more  interesting  than  to  see  and  be  acquainted  with 
it.  Thirty,  sixty  persons  live  together  and  kbor  in  common.  That 
mass  obeys  a  single  will,  concentrated  in  its  head.  But  it  obeys  with 
pleasure  and  with  confidence,  for  the  members  of  the  household  are 
not  there  by  any  constraint ;  the  only  bond  which  holds  them  is  a 
moral  tie,  since  they  know  that  they  are  rendering  obedience  to  a 


606  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

wisdom  which  is  furthest  sighted  of  them  all ; "  and  these  authors 
add  to  their  praise  of  the  institution :  "  The  Servian  people  are  free 
from  absurd  notions.  There  has  never  been  a  proletariat  among  us." 
The  dissolution  of  the  community  is  always  looked  upon  as  a 
calamity.* 

The  fact  that  all  the  Servian  tribes  speak  one  language,  and  the 
hope  that  they  may  all  co-operate  in  the  building  up  of  one  common 
national  literature,  have  given  a  powerful  impulse  to  the  idea  of 
establishing  as  close  a  union  as  circumstances  will  allow,  of  all  the 
people  speaking  the  Servian  language.  Youthful  enthusiasts  have 
even  intoxicated  themselves  with  the  dream  of  the  restoration  of  a 
Servian  Empire,  which,  from  the  extent  of  its  area  and  the  number 
of  its  population,  might  fill  a  respectable  place  among  the  States  of 
Europe,  being  in  both  respects  superior  to  Sweden,  Norway,  Den- 
mark, Belgium,  Portugal,  and  Switzerland.  This  idea  has  found 
zealous  and  enthusiastic  leaders  in  the  Young  Servians  studying  at  the 
European  Universities,  who,  from  a  study  of  the  modern  history  of  Eu- 
rope, have  imbibed  a  belief  in  a  reconstruction  of  the  map  of  Europe 
on  the  basis  of  the  nationality  principle.  They  mean  to  profit  by  the 
wonderful  success  of  the  sagacious  Italian  and  German  statesmen, 
who,  by  a  skillful  use  of  this  principle,  have  consolidated  the  dis- 
jointed members  of  powerful  nations  into  great  Empires.  The  young 
Servian  enthusiasts  who  hope  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  Cavour  and 
Bismarck  have  their  center  in  a  society  called  Omladina,  the  primary 
and  ostensible  project  of  which  is  to  cultivate  Servian  literature, 
while  it  regards  as  its  remoter  and  final  goal,  the  foundation  of  a 
general  Servian  Empire.  The  influence  of  this  society  is  easily 
traceable  in  the  spirit  of  the  young  Servian  literature,  and  in  the 
management  of  all  the  Servian  institutions  of  learning.  The  issue 
of  the  war  has  greatly  strengthened  the  hopes  of  the  Servian  nation- 
alists. The  power  of  the  Turks  to  arrest  the  steady  rise  of  the  Ser- 
vian people  and  to  prevent  the  resurrection  of  a  Servian  Empire,  has 
been  broken.  Servia,  Montenegro,  Bosnia,  and  Herzegovina  will 
co-operate  in  smoothing  the  road  for  a  future  union.  "What  direc- 
tion this  road  will  take,  may  as  yet  be  unknown,  but  we  can  not  won- 
der if  enthusiastic  Servians  now  more  firmly  believe  than  ever,  that 
the  aspirations  of  a  large  nation  will,  in  the  course  of  time,  call  forth 


*  Countess  Dora  D'Istria,  article  on  "  The  condition  of  women  among  the  Southern 
Slavs,"  in  the  Penn  Monthly  for  January,  1878. 


NEW  STATES  OF  THE  BALKAN  PENINSULA.         607 

the  ingenious  statesman  who  will  reintroduce  it  as  a  sovereign  mem- 
ber into  the  family  of  civilized  nations.  It  is  certainly  a  significant 
fact,  that  in  Hungary  the  Catholic  and  Greek  Servians  are  now  fully 
united  in  the  straggle  for  maintaining  the  national  character  of  their 
schools,  and  in  cultivating  a  common  literature,  and  the  leaders  of 
the  national  movement  firmly  hope,  that  as  soon  as  the  Mohammedan 
Bosnians  clearly  see  the  impossibility  of  expecting  any  further  aid 
from  the  decrepit  Turks,  they  may  be  found  as  ready  to  fall  in  with 
the  national  movement  as  their  forefathers  were  in  adopting  the 
Islam. 

The  Servian  nation  includes  the  people  who,  after  the  Greeks, 
have  made  the  greatest  advancement  in  civilization  and  the  improve- 
ment of  their  country  of  any  of  the  populations  of  the  Ottoman  Em- 
pire. It  also  includes,  in  the  Bosnians,  those  who  are  most  backward. 
It  is  represented  in  the  Montenegrins  by  the  bravest  people  in  the 
world.  It  has  been  more  steadily  faithful  than  any  of  the  other  sub- 
ject peoples  of  Turkey,  to  the  traditions  of  its  former  national  life. 
The  Montenegrins  have  never  been  subdued ;  the  people  of  the  prin- 
cipality of  Servia  have  kept  up  a  continual  disturbance  against  Turk- 
ish rule,  have  advanced  steadily  toward  independence  since  the  begin- 
ning of  this  century,  have  let  no  consideration  prevent  their  striking 
for  it  whenever  they  had  opportunity,  and  have  at  last  gained  it ; 
and  the  Bosnians,  notwithstanding  the  influence  the  Mussulman 
begs  may  have  tried  to  exert  over  their  countrymen,  have  always 
been  unruly  and  started  the  insurrection  which  led  to  the  important 
results  the  world  is  now  witnessing.  These  facts,  constituting  prom- 
inent features  in  the  history  of  the  race,  furnish  a  sufficient  answer 
to  the  question,  whether  the  Servians  are  fit  to  maintain  an  inde- 
pendent existence.  The  training  in  the  subordination  of  their  own 
will  and  interests  to  those  of  the  community  which  they  have  re- 
ceived under  the  institution  of  the  Zadruga,  admirably  qualifies  them 
to  become  thoroughly  loyal  to  any  Government  of  their  choice,  and 
public-spirited  citizens. 

The  importance  and  influence  of  the  new  Servia  will  depend  large- 
ly upon  the  extent  which  is  given  to  it.  The  present  State,  even  if 
it  include  all  that  the  Servians  now  claim,  is  too  small  to  admit  of 
the  best  national  development.  If  it  should  be  given  all  the  Ser- 
vians of  Turkey,  it  would  form  a  State  equal  to  any  of  the  others  to 
be  set  up  on  the  Balkan  peninsula.  If  it  should  acquire  the  kindred 
tribes  of  Austria,  it  would  constitute  a  mighty  Empire.  The  dis- 


6o3  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

cussion  of  these  alternatives  involves  the  consideration  of  questions 
in  which  other  important  States  have  a  strong  interest ;  and  if  it 
should  be  brought  up  in  form  may  produce  another  complication  of 
the  Eastern  Question  which  will  be  hardly  less  difficult  to  resolve 
than  that  which  attends  the  disposition  of  the  remains  of  Turkey. 

Another  nationality  of  the  Balkan  peninsula,  the  Albanian,  has 
not  been  prominent  in  the  recent  discussions,  and  has  made  no  con- 
certed manifestation  of  its  desires.  It  is  distinct  in  its  origin  from 
all  other  nationalities  by  which  it  is  surrounded,  and  belongs  to  the 
oldest  Aryan  race  of  Eastern  Europe,  its  Illyrian  ancestors  having 
antedated  the  Greeks  in  their  settlement.  Although  the  Albanians 
have  been  preserved  distinct  through  all  the  revolutions  of  the  past, 
and  have  at  times  made  themselves  conspicuous,  they  seem  now,  by 
means  of  the  difference  of  religions,  and  the  introduction  of  foreign 
languages  and  influence,  to  be  gradually  losing  their  national  bonds, 
and  to  be  showing  a  tendency  to  affiliate  with  the  people  around 
them.  A  large  portion  of  them  are  now  using  the  Greek  language ; 
and  in  many  other  ways  the  effects  of  Grecian  and  Italian  associa- 
tions appear  to  be  modifying  their  habits.  Their  most  probable 
destiny  is  not  to  become  a  separate  State,  but  to  be  attached  to  some 
of  the  other  States.  A  portion  of  them  may  unite  their  fortunes 
with  the  Greeks,  with  whom  they  have  already  had  much  to  do,  and 
among  whose  most  famous  heroes  appear  such  Albanian  names  as 
Bozzaris  and  Canaris.  The  annexation  of  a  part  of  Albania  to 
Italy  has  also  been  mentioned  as  one  of  the  possible  results  of  the 
changes  now  going  on  ;  and  the  Montenegrins  will  always  be  ready 
to  appropriate  a  share  of  the  territory  on  the  north,  a  part  of  which 
they  still  covet. 


MARSHAL    MACMAHON,    PRESIDENT    OF    FRANCE. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

PANSLAVIO   HOPES    AND  TENDENCIES. 

The  Result  of  the  War  encouraging  the  Panslavists— Original  Object  of  the  Slavophile 
Party  of  Russia— Opposition  to  the  Reforms  introduced  by  Peter  the  Great— They 
sought  to  expel  European  Civilization  and  introduce  a  new  Civilization  of  Russian, 
or  Orthodox  Slavic  Development— Personal  History  of  the  Founders  and  Builders  of 
the  Party— The  Aksakoffs,  father  and  sons— Their  Social  Circle  at  Moscow— Literary 
Efforts  of  the  Elder  Aksakoff  in  behalf  of  the  Cause— Stephanovitch  Chomiakoflf,  the 
real  Founder  of  the  Party— His  Travels  and  the  Views  he  acquired— The  Kireyevskis— 
Influence  of  these  three  over  the  Aksakoffs — Constantino  Aksakoff's  Eccentric  Pro- 
tests against  French  Fashions— He  revives  Obsolete  Customs— The  Group  propose  the 
Russian  Mir,  or  Village  Commune,  as  the  Basis  of  the  new  Organization  of  Society- 
Ivan  Aksakoff  and  his  Journal— Katkoff  and  the  Party  of  Young  Russia— Panslavic 
Movements  in  Austria— The  Slavic  Committees  of  Russia— Their  work  in  the  Her- 
zegovitiian  Insurrection — A  Pro-Servian  Excitement  stirred  "Up — The  Government 
drawn  into  the  Movement— The  Czar  commits  Himself  at  Moscow— Silence  imposed 
during  the  Constantinople  Conference— Activity  resumed— Prince  Tcherkassky— Aksa- 
koff declares  the  Union  in  accord  with  the  Czar— Slavic  Meeting  at  Warsaw. 

THE  result  of  the  war  has  radically  changed  the  position  of  the 
two  Slavic  nationalities  of  Turkey.  Formerly  crushed  by  an  alien 
despotism  and  the  victims  of  relentless  efforts  to  quench  all  their 
national  feelings  and  baffle  their  national  efforts3  they  are  now 
dominant  and  the  possessors  of  a  beautiful,  promising  country, 
offering  substantial  advantages  for  promoting  their  material,  intel- 
lectual, and  social  growth.  The  hand  of  the  oppressor  being  re- 
moved and  they  enjoying  the  good  wishes  of  the  world,  they  have 
now  every  motive  and  encouragement  to  work  out  their  own  ad- 
vancement; they  have  also  the  additional  encouragement  that  their 
efforts  will  be  watched  with  a  peculiar  interest  by  a  family  of 
kindred  peoples  who  have  made  their  cause  their  own,  and  who  see 
in  their  triumph  the  presage  of  a  glorious  triumph  for  the  race  to 
which  they  belong.  The  victory  now  achieved  can  not  fail  to  give 
a  powerful  impulse  to  the  aspirations  of  the  whole  Slavic  race. 
These  aspirations  will  lend  further  force  to  the  operations  of  the 
powerful  party  which  aims  to  elevate  the  Slavic  subjects  of  all  non- 
Slavic  Governments  to  the  same  commanding  position  as  has  been 
gained  for  them  in  Turkey,  and  will  in  their  turn  be  stimulated  by 

(609) 


6io  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

its  efforts.  The  Panslavists  have  been  referred  to  before  in  this 
•work ;  but  as  they  are  now  likely  to  be  more  active  and  prominent 
than  ever,  and  as  their  designs  are  of  a  character  that  threatens  the 
peace  of  one  of  the  most  powerful  States  of  Europe,  and  are  likely 
to  present  another  extremely  difficult  question  for  diplomatists  to 
solve,  it  becomes  proper  to  inquire  what  they  are  doing,  and  what  is 
their  aim. 

The  name  of  Panslavism  is  applied  in  general  to  the  move- 
ment which  has  been  in  progress  for  several  years  under  the 
auspices  of  an  active  band  of  agitators  for  the  national  union  or  the 
independence  and  alliance  of  all  the  Slavic  peoples  who  now  live 
under  different  Governments.  It  affects  to  disregard  all  claims  of 
those  Governments,  if  they  are  non-Slavic,  to  the  allegiance  of  their 
subjects ;  makes  light  of  national  prejudices,  and  even  hopes  to 
overcome  the  obstacles  presented  by  differences  in  religion,  which 
are  more  formidable.  The  movement  is  chiefly  the  growth  of  the 
nineteenth  century ;  it  received  a  strong  stimulus  through  the  efforts 
of  the  Slovak  Johann  Kollar  to  promote  a  literary  union  of  the 
Slavs,  which  was  warmly  received  by  the  Czechs,  and  was  first  intro- 
duced prominently  to  the  world  at  the  Slavic  Congress  which  was 
held  at  Prague  in  1848. 

It  has,  however,  received  its  strongest  support  from  the  Russian 
party  known  as  the  Slavophiles,  and  is  now  most  prominently 
represented  and  most  urgently  advanced  by  them.  This  party, 
which  originated  naturally  in  the  reaction  against  the  changes  which 
were  forced  upon  the  nation  rather  than  introduced  into  it  by  Peter 
the  Great,  and  against  the  ascendency  of  foreigners,  foreign  ways 
and  views,  and  foreign  influence  in  the  councils  of  the  nation,  cor- 
responds closely  with  the  party  which  exists  in  nearly  all  nations  to 
cultivate  the  predominantly  national  feeling  and  keep  alive  the  af- 
fection for  national  customs,  literature,  and  peculiarities ;  but  it  is  more 
pronounced  in  its  views  and  measures  in  Russia  than  in  most  other 
European  countries,  because  Russian  conditions,  customs,  and  society 
differ  more  greatly  from  those  of  Western  nations  than  those  of  the 
latter  differ  among  each  other,  and  because  the  process  of  assimila- 
tion begun  by  Peter  the  Great  has  hardly  yet  worked  below  the 
surface  in  a  very  limited  circle  of  Russian  life. 

This  party,  which  has  existed  since  the  last  century,  was  active 
during  the  reign  of  the  Czar  Nicholas,  but  as  under  the  military 
system  of  that  Emperor  no  scope  was  allowed  for  political  discussion, 


PAN  SLA  VIC    HOPES  AND  TENDENCIES.  6ll 

it  had  to  confine  its  operations  to  literary  efforts.  The  close  of  the 
Crimean  war,  with  disaster  to  Russia,  caused  a  new  field  to  be 
opened  to  it,  which  was  made  all  the  more  available  by  the  prefer- 
ence of  the  new  Czar  Alexander  for  political  over  military  methods 
and  measures,  and  by  the  character  of  the  measures  which  he  under- 
took. It  co-operated  heartily  in  the  emancipation  of  the  serfs,  and 
found  in  the  proceedings  which  were  taken  for  the  Russianization  of 
the  Baltic  (German)  provinces  the  development  of  a  policy  exactly 
agreeing  in  principle' with  the  line  of  action  which  it  had  marked 
out  for  itself.  During  the  war  of  1877,  it  held  itself  ready  to  take 
advantage  of  either  event,  of  disaster  or  victory  to  the  Russian 
arms.  In  case  Russia  were  defeated,  and  the  nation  had  "  to  retire 
upon  itself,"  new  concessions  would  have  to  be  made  to  popular  de- 
mands, as  had  been  done  after  the  Crimean  war.  It  would  support 
the  demands,: and  secure  concessions  which  would  promote  the  ob- 
jects of  its  existence.  In  case  of  victory,  it  would  have  abundant 
opportunities  for  action  and  the  exercise  of  its  influence  in  the  dis- 
cussions that  would  follow  in  regard  to  the  relations  of  the  freed 
South  Slavic  nationalities. 

Traces  of  the  power  and  activity  of  the  sentiment  on  which  the 
Slavophile  party  is  founded — that  of  reaction  against  the  reforms  of 
Peter  the  Great — may  be  found  throughout  the  history  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  although  they  do  not  appear  in  such  close  con- 
nection as  to  constitute  a  visible  chain  of  events.  The  quiet,  but 
constant  and  formidable  opposition  of  the  sects  of  the  "  Old  Be- 
lievers "  to  the  State  Church ;  the  Strelitz  insurrections ;  the  Dol- 
goruki  conspiracy  of  1730 ;  the  expulsion  of  German  statesmen  and 
marshals  under  the  Empress  Elizabeth ;  the  intrigues  of  Lomonosoff 
against  the  German  members  of  the  St.  Petersburg  Academy  of 
Sciences;  the  Pugatsheff  outbreak;  the  removal  of  Barclay  and 
Benningsen  from  the  chief  command  of  the  army  in  1812 ;  the  De- 
kabrist  insurrection  of  1825,  which  bore  in  some  respects  against 
"West-European  ideas,  may  all  be  referred  to  as  forerunners  of  the 
great  revolution  which  has  spread  during  the  last  forty  years  in  the 
bosom  of  Russian  cultivated  society,  and  has  come  to  light  under 
the  reign  of  Alexander  II.  This  revolution  is  not  the  work  of  any 
particular  men,  nor  the  result  of  a  deliberate  plan,  but  is  the  prod- 
uct of  a  combination  of  circumstances.  There  are  a  few  men,, 
however,  who  have  been  more  prominently  identified  with  the 
movement,  and  have  contributed  conspicuously  to  give  shape  and 
33 


612  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

direction  to  the  thoughts  and  acts  of  their  compatriots,  whose 
character  and  history  it  is  necessary  to  know  in  order  to  understand 
thoroughly  the  aims  and  mode  of  action  of  the  party.  For  the  ac- 
count of  these  men  and  the  history  of  the  growth  of  the  movement, 
we  are  indebted  to  a  carefully  prepared  sketch  published  in  the  All- 
gemeine  Zeitung  in  1877.  In  nearly  all  countries,  the  popular  senti- 
ment finds  its  best  expression  and  representation  in  the  popular 
romantic  poetry,  from  which  it  often  receives  also  its  strongest 
guidance.  It  is  so  in  Russia;  and  the  Slavophile  party  has  been 
largely  built  up  around  and  by  means  of  the  literature  of  this  school, 
and  has  found  its  most  influential  directors  in  the  ranks  of  the 
men  who  cultivate  this  literature. 

Among  the  men  most  prominently  known  in  connection  with  this 
party  are  the  three  Aksakoffs,  the  father  and  two  sons.  The  elder 
Aksakoff,  Sergius  Timofeyevitch,  was  one  of  the  well-to-do  nobles 
of  the  middle  class,  and  was  born  at  Ufa  in  1791,  to  the  possession 
of  important  estates  in  the  Government  of  Orenburg.  He  held  an 
appointment  on  the  Land  Commission  of  1804,  and  was  employed 
at  a  later  date  in  the  Bureau  of  the  Censorship.  In  all  his  public 
positions  he  was  distinguished  for  capacity  and  independence  of 
thought.  Like  all  active  Russians  of  his  time,  he  fell  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  French  and  German  literature  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  by  their  help  raised  himself  above  the  crudeness  of  his 
ancestors.  He  translated  some  of  the  representative  works  of 
French  literature,  wrote  for  the  paper  of  the  party  of  reform,  took 
part  in  the  discussions  of  the  day  with  those  who  advocated  an  ad- 
vanced training,  and  in  all  of  these  engagements  combined  a  patri- 
otic, Russian  tone  of  thought  with  irrepressible  enthusiasm  for  cos- 
mopolitan culture.  His  saloon  was  for  many  years  the  rendezvous 
of  writers,  poets,  and  publicists  of  the  most  diversified  views,  whose 
influence  was  manifested  very  perceptibly  upon  the  sons,  who  grew 
up  in  the  presence  of  such  meetings,  as  well  as  upon  the  father 
himself. 

These  sons,  of  whom  Constantine  was  born  in  1817,  and  his 
brother  Ivan  was  a  few  years  younger,  had  been  students  at  the 
High  School  in  Moscow,  where  they  had  come  in  contact  with  the 
philosophy  of  the  Germans  Elegel  and  Schelling,  and  had  become 
inspired  with  the  mystic  romanticism  which  was  at  that  time  making 
the  circuit  of  the  world.  Controversies  arose  in  time  among  the 
band  to  which  the  brothers  were  attached,  respecting  the  relation  of 


PAN  SLA  VIC  HOPES  AND  TENDENCIES.  613 

knowledge  to  faith,  and  of  nationality  to  humanity,  which  resulted 
in  bitterness  and  a  separation  into  two  groups.  The  Aksakoffs  and 
their  friends,  Chomiakoff,  Yuri  Samarin,  Peter  and  Ivan  Kireyevski, 
formed  a  compact  circle,  out  of  which,  in  course  of  time,  grew  the 
Slavophile  party.  The  watchword  of  this  party  was  return  to  the 
Russian  folk-life  as  it  was  before  Peter  the  Great ;  in  the  name  of 
which  they  demanded  a  departure  from  the  heathenish  western  cult- 
ure introduced  by  the  great  reformer,  the  study  of  the  theology  of 
the  Slavic  .and  Byzantine  fathers,  a  transference  of  the  political 
balance  to  the  rural  population  who  were  uncontaminated  by  the 
false  Western  learning,  and  the  destruction  of  all  foreign,  particu- 
larly German,  influences.  These  objects  were  decidedly  contrary  to 
the  views  which  had  been  held  by  the  elder  Aksakoff  and  his  asso- 
ciates ;  nevertheless,  the  zeal  and  decision  of  the  sons  quite  carried 
the  father  away,  and  he  became  an  active  participant  in  their  move- 
ments. His  home  became  a  meeting-place  for  the  followers  of  the 
school,  and  he  himself  hastened  to  spread  the  views  he  had  newly 
adopted  by  means  of  his  writings.  At  the  request  of  his  sons,  he 
composed  poetical  descriptions  of  the  impressions  of  his  childhood- 
life,  in  the  time  of  Catherine  II.  on  the  banks  of  the  Ufa,  in  a 
region  then  newly  won  from  the  Kirghiz,  far  from  any  possible  influ- 
ences of  European  culture.  These  sketches,  which  were  published  in 
book-form  as  "Russian  Family  Chronicles,"  made  a  great  im- 
pression, all  in  favor  of  the  new  party,  are  a  standard  work  witli  the 
party,  and  rank  among  the  most  precious  pieces  of  Russian  litera- 
ture. Sergius  Timofeyevitch  died  in  May,  1859. 

The  original  impulse  of  the  movement  which  led  to  the  formation 
of  the  new  party  had  been  given  by  Alexis  Stephanovitch  Chomiakoff. 
He  was  the  son  of  a  wealthy  Muscovite,  and  was  born  in  the  city  of 
Moscow  in  1804.  He  had  spent  his  youth  in  a  regiment  of  the 
horse-guards,  had  participated  in  the  Turkish  campaigns  of  1828 
and  1829,  had  afterward  traveled  through  the  greater  part  of  Eu- 
rope, and  then  returned  when  thirty  years  old  to  his  native  city. 
His  travels  had  been  made  during  a  time  of  general  reaction  and 
depression,  and  had  given  him  a  bad  impression  of  the  condition  of 
the  Western  nations.  He  reached  the  conviction  that  the  civiliza- 
tion of  these  lands,  which  was  the  expression  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  the  Roman  law,  and  feudalism,  had  passed  its  zenith  and 
was  in  a  decline,  and  about  to  yield  to  a  new  one  originating  with 
the  orthodox  Slavic  and  Russian  races.  To  the  rationalism,  the 


614  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

alienation,  and  the  spiritual  pride  of  the  West,  he  opposed  the 
trusting  humility  of  the  Russian  nationality  and  the  assumed  inward 
life  of  the  Oriental  ecclesiasticism,  to  the  senility  and  weariness  of 
Roman  and  German  Europe  the  unbroken  youthfulness  of  the  Slavic 
race,  from  which  he  expected  a  new  birth  of  the  whole  of  that  quar- 
ter of  the  world.  This  miracle  was  to  be  worked  out  by  a  return 
to  the  primitive  Christianity  of  the  Eastern  Church.  Together  with 
his  associates  he  engaged  in  the  study  of  the  Byzantine  fathers,  whom 
he  considered  an  inexhaustible  fountain  of  wisdom.  His  first  writ- 
ings were  of  a  purely  theological  nature,  and  sought  to  show  that 
Roman  Catholicism  and  Protestantism  were  inwardly  hollow,  and 
had  become  unfit  to  give  intellectual  and  spiritual  standing  to  West- 
ern life,  and  that  a  religious  renewal  was  needed  to  deliver  Euro- 
pean civilization  from  destruction. 

A  further  development  was  given  these  ideas  by  Ivan  Kireyevski, 
a  brilliant  journalist,  who  entered  with  zest  into  discussions  of  the 
destructive  influence  of  the  reforms  which  Peter  the  Great  and  his 
German  helpers  had  introduced  into  the  country,  alleging  that  they 
were  destroying  what  remained  of  the  old  popular  freedom,  were 
estranging  the  higher  classes  from  the  masses  of  the  nation,  were 
substituting  officialism  for  self-government,  and  were  carrying  Rus- 
sia into  the  danger  of  being  involved  in  the  bankruptcy  with  which 
West-European  life  was  threatened. 

The  propagation  of  these  views,  which  Chomiakoff,  Ivan  Kireyev- 
ski, and  his  brother  Peter  made  the  work  of  their  life,  was  at  first 
conducted  by  social  means,  and  was  confined  to  a  select  circle  of  the 
higher  society  of  Moscow.  ChomiakofF  had  great  conversational 
powers,  and  a  skill  in  argument  and  repartee  which  made  him  popu- 
lar even  with  those  who  opposed  his  views,  and  as  he  was  also  in 
high  esteem  as  a  poet,  he  occupied  a  prominent  position  in  the 
ancient  capital ;  so  his  views  had  acquired  more  or  less  of  currency, 
even  before  they  attracted  the  attention  of  the  academical  circle  iii 
which  the  Aksakoff  sons  and  their  companions  moved.  Constan- 
tine  Aksakoff  embraced  his  views,  and  immediately  went  to  advo- 
cating them  and  carrying  them  into  execution,  so  far  as  his  personal 
habits  were  concerned,  with  the  recklessness  and  ardor  of  youth. 
He  threw  away  his  fashionable  hat  on  the  public  street,  at  the  re- 
mark of  a  friend,  who  suggested,  during  an  evening  walk,  that  the 
wearing  of  French  fashions  was  the  sign  of  a  shameful  dependence 
on  the  West,  and  at  the  same  time  took  a  vow,  which  he  kept  liter- 


PAN  SLA  VIC  HOPES  AND  TENDENCIES.  615 

ally,  that  he  would  thereafter  wear  clothes  peculiar  to  his  country. 
After  that  he  wore,  whether  in  the  street  or  in  the  parlor,  the  sleeve- 
less jacket  and  high  boots  of  the  peasants.  To  the  astonishment  of 
all  who  heard  him,  he  expressed  to  the  venerable  Prince  Galitzin, 
the  Governor-General  of  the  province,  the  wish  that  he  might  live 
to  see  the  day  when  his  Highness  would  not  be  ashamed  of  the  dress 
of  the  Russian  people.  The  use  of  the  French  language  was  avoided 
by  himself  and  his  friends ;  he  transformed  the  appearance  and  furnish- 
ing of  his  father's  house ;  he  sought  to  restore  the  characters  used  in 
writing  before  the  time  of  Peter,  and  made  use  of  every  occasion 
to  illustrate  his  doctrines  practically,  by  forming  connections  with 
the  people  of  the  lower  classes,  even  going  with  Peter  Kireyevski, 
one  Easter  Monday,  to  the  doors  of  one  of  the  churches,  to  engage 
in  the  disputations  there  between  the  Orthodox  and  Old  Believers' 
sects,  according  to  a  custom  which  had  been  disused  for  a  hundred 
years  by  people  of  the  upper  classes. 

Two  journals,  the  Moskwityanin  and  the  Mujuk,  were  estab- 
lished to  advocate  the  views  of  the  new  party.  Particular  impor- 
tance was  attached  by  the  writers  of  the  party  to  the  reviving  of 
the  relations  of  the  Russians  with  the  Slavic  peoples  outside  of 
Russia,  and  to  the  study  of  the  profane  and  ecclesiastical  history  of 
their  country.  They  were  never  wearied  with  depicting  ideals  of 
the  conditions  existing  before  Peter,  of  denouncing  his  reforms  as 
an  apostasy  from  the  holy  traditions  of  the  fathers,  of  repelling  the 
intrigues  of  the  hated  Germans  against  freedom,  and  of  painting  in 
glowing  colors  the  future  of  the  Slavic  world  restored  to  its  pristine 
purity,  and  prevailing  over  the  ruins  of  the  Roman-German  civili- 
zation. 

At  a  later  date,  they  indicated  the  undivided  community  of  the 
Russian  village-system  (the  Mir)  as  the  fundamental  principle  of 
Russian  life,  and  devised  the  doctrine  that  Russia  was  destined  to 
be  called,  with  the  help  of  the  new  form  of  civilization  peculiar  to 
itself,  to  deliver  the  world,  free  all  the  bound  on  earth,  and  usher  in 
the  Slavic  millennium.  They  likewise  dwelt  on  the  importance  of 
restoring  the  old  popular  usage  of  the  Artel,  a  kind  of  trades-union 
or  guild,  and  on  the  deep  significance  of  the  sectarian  life  of  the 
Old  Believers  as  a  genuine  popular  protest  against  the  ecclesiastical 
pretensions  an-d  foreign  influence  of  Peter,  and  aimed,  finally,  to 
remove  all  traces  of  the  reforms  which  had  been  introduced  during 
the  last  one  hundred  and  fifty  years.  "  The  Petersburg  period  of 


6l6  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

our  history,"  said  one  of  their  articles,  "  has  brought  .Russia  out  of 
the  simplicity  of  its  national  development,  and  has  introduced  it  to  a 
State-life  in  which  its  own  people  have  no  part.  But  while  the  higher 
classes  have  devoted  themselves  to  the  service  of  the  Western  idols, 
the  people  have  remained  true  to  their  native  sanctuaries  ;  this  peo- 
ple must  be  established  again  in  the  soil  of  which  it  has  been  robbed, 
and  be  made  again  the  peculiar  agents  of  our  development  if  we 
would  be  made  whole.  This  can  take  place  only  if  we  return  to 
the  foundations  of  our  culture  which  have  been  deserted.  Single 
acquisitions  of  West-European  civilization  may  have  their  value  for 
us,  but  we  must  completely  and  forever  reject  the  false  fundamental 
principle  of  that  civilization.  That  false  principle  is  that  of  indi- 
vidualism." The  article  further  held  up  the  Russian  community  as 
the  proper  contradiction  and  denial  of  that  principle,  and  praised  it 
as  resting  on  the  genuine  Christian  principle  of  humility  and  self- 
denial. 

N  Chomiakoff  and  Constantine  Aksakoff  died  in  1860— the  Kireyevski 
brothers  and  Dimitri  Yaluyeif  had  died  a  few  months  before  them — 
making,  with  the  elder  Aksakoff,  six  of  the  founders  of  the  party 
who  had  died  within  a  few  years.  Of  those  who  were  left,  the  most 
prominent  were  A.  Kosheleff  and  Yuri  Samarin.  With  them  were 
associated  Ivan  Aksakoff,  Constantino's  younger  brother,  Prince 
Tcherkassky,  the  Aide  during  the  war  of  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas 
and  Civil  Governor  of  Bulgaria,  Lamanski,  the  elder  Pogodin,  and 
Danilevski.  Ivan  Aksakoff  established  a  weekly  journal,  the  Dien 
(the  Day),  toward  the  end  of  1861,  which  he  committed  to  the  prin- 
ciple last  advocated  by  his  brother,  of  the  adoption  of  the  village 
commune  as  the  corner-stone  of  the  Russian  political  life.  He  also 
accepted  some  points  of  the  programme  of  the  Western  Liberals  (or 
those  of  St.  Petersburg),  and  urged  them  with  such  skill  and  force 
that  his  journal  soon  surpassed  its  contemporaries  in  warmth  and 
force  of  a'dvocacy.  By  the  spring  of  1862,  the  Slavophile  organ  had 
come  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  progressive  journals  of  the 
whole  Russian  press,  and  the  fact  was  consigned  to  oblivion  that  the 
founders  of  its  policy  had  been  regarded  by  their  "  Europeanized  " 
opponents  as  reactionists  and  champions  of  the  old  Russian  political 
and  ecclesiastical  systems ;  in  fact,  the  political  demands  of  Ivan 
Aksakoff  and  his  friends  differed  only  in  name  from  the  liberal 
measures  sought  by  the  Young  Russian  party.  What  was  asked  for 
at  St.  Petersburg,  in  the  name  of  the  nineteenth  century,  was  urged 


PAN  SLA  VIC  HOPES  AND  TENDENCIES.  617 

at  Moscow  as  the  inevitable  accompaniment  of  the  adoption  of 
orthodox  and  national  principles.  "Western  phrases  "were  employed 
at  St.  Petersburg,  Old  Russian  expressions  at  Moscow,  to  cover 
what,  when  analyzed,  were  found  to  be  substantially  the  same 
specific  objects.  That  the  Dien  laid  especial  stress  upon  the  con- 
nection of  Russia  with  the  other  Slavic  nations,  that  it  appeared 
more  hostile  to  the  Germans  than  other  journals,  that  it  advocated 
the  general  extension  of  the  world-delivering  communal  tenure  of 
property  and  the  consequent  abolition  of  rank,  were  deemed  partic- 
ular merits  by  the  excited  writers  of  both  capitals  ;  even  its  Churchly 
zeal  caused  no  shock,  for  in  this  it  urged  primarily  the  deliverance 
of  the  lower  spiritual  orders  from  the  dominion  of  the  arrogant 
bishops  and  monks.  The  higher  clergy  or  monks  were  looked  upon 
as  Grecian,  not  Russian — an  importation  from  Constantinople — and, 
therefore,  as  proper  objects  for  the  animadversion  of  a  Slavophile 
organ. 

The  insurrection  which  broke  out  in  Poland  and  Lithuania  was  a 
source  of  embarrassment  to  the  Slavophiles  and  their  organs.  It 
was  difficult  to  find  a  way  of  dealing  with  it  which  would  not  in- 
volve the  violation  of  some  of  their  principles.  The  Government 
party  need  not  hesitate  to  suppress  the  insurrection  ;  the  Western 
Radicals,  not  being  troubled  with  Old  Russian  doctrines,  could  give 
their  sympathies,  without  question,  to  a  people  struggling  for  some 
of  the  principles  of  self-government;  but  to  the  Slavophiles  was 
presented  the  spectacle  of  a  Slavic  people,  with  whom  they  should 
sympathize,  struggling  to  preserve,  among  other  things,  the  suprem- 
acy of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  which  it  was  one  of  their  main 
objects  to  put  down.  On  the  one  hand,  Russia  had  no  right  to  con- 
strain the  Polish  people,  and  the  Roman  Catholics  of  Old  Poland 
could  never  be  true  citizens  of  an  Orthodox  Russia ;  on  the  other 
hand,  the  freedom  of  the  Poles  would  involve  the  Polanization  and 
conversion  to  Roman  Catholicism  of  the  "White  Russians  and; 
Lithuanians,  who  would  be  subjected  to  their  influence. 

The  solution  of  this  dilemma  was  given  by  the  Moscow  Gazette^ 
a  journal  which  had  been  recently  founded  by  Katkoff  and  Leon- 
tieff.  It  demanded  a  stern  suppression  of  the  rebellion,  and  the; 
forcible  deliverance  of  Lithuania  and  White  Russia  from  Polish- 
and  Roman  Catholic  influences.  The  Slavophiles  fell  in  with  this 
line  of  policy,  and  proposed,  in  addition,  the  extirpation  of  the: 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  and  the  forcible  subjection  of  the  two- 


6l8  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

provinces  to  Orthodox  ecclesiastical   supremacy  and  a  communal 
division  of  the  lands. 

From  this  time,  an  accord  was  established  between  the  Slavophiles 
and  the  party  of  Russian  centralization,  which  was  led  by  Katkoff, 
and  represented  by  his  Moscow  Gazette.  The  parties  differed  as  to 
some  points  of  policy :  thus,  Katkoff  advocated  the  Russianization 
of  the  Polish  Roman  Catholic  Church,  rather  than  its  abolition ;  he 
had  entertained  European  views  on  questions  of  property  and  in- 
struction, and  had  no  thought  of  the  extension  of  the  communal 
system  ;  but  those  differences  have  not  prevented  their  working  har- 
moniously together  under  the  pressure  of  questions  demanding  more 
immediate  attention.  On  the  question  of  the  Baltic  provinces, 
which  followed  that  of  Poland  and  Lithuania,  both  parties  were 
perfectly  agreed.  The  same  measures  which  the  Centralists  de- 
manded, in  the  name  of  the  unity  of  the  State,  were  urged  by  the 
Slavophiles,  as  called  for  by  reason  of  the  Slavic  origin  of  the  Let- 
tish people,  and  the  conversion  of  a  few  thousand  of  them  to  the 
Greek  Church.  Both  agreed,  also,  that  the  Prussian  victories  of 
1866  were  fraught  with  danger  to  Russia,  and  that  the  only  sure 
allies  the  country  could  have  should  be  sought  in  the  United  States. 

Aksakoff  has  gradually  gained  in  influence  within  the  United 
party.  The  Moscow  Gazette  began  to  lose  in  popularity,  on  account 
of  its  advocacy  of  the  classical  system  of  education,  which  was  out 
of  favor,  and  for  other  reasons;  then  Aksakoff  established  a  new 
journal,  the  Moskwa,  in  1867,  and  took  a  stand  for  the  policy  of 
protection ;  finally,  by  his  marriage  with  a  lady  of  the  Imperial 
Court,  he  obtained  a  prominent  position  in  society,  in  Court  circles, 
and  in  close  relations  with  the  Czarevitch.  Leontieff  died  in  1875, 
and  Katkoff  suffered  by  bad  health  so  that  he  lost  much  of  his 
former  activity.  All  of  these  events  worked  for  the  interest  of 
Aksakofi.  Finally,  on  the  death  of  Pogodin,  the  Slavic  committee 
at  Moscow  made  him  their  President,  and  the  Chief  of  a  widely- 
ramified  and  highly  influential  society,  which,  under  his  direction, 
has  exercised  an  influence  over  the  course  of  Russian  foreign 
policy  far  exceeding  anything  that  he  had  ever  ventured  to  antici- 
pate. 

The  Slavic  committees  of  Moscow  and  St.  Petersburg,  whose 
organization  has  now  been  repeated  in  numerous  provincial  cities, 
originated  in  185T.  The  Curator  of  the  High  School  at  Moscow, 
Counselor  Bachmetieff,  in  that  year  founded  a  society  for  pro- 


PANSLAVIC  HOPES  AND  TENDENCIES.  619 

moting  tlie  education  of  the  Slavic  people  of  other  countries 
(especially  of  Ruthenian  Galicia  and  Bulgaria),  which  should  have 
for  its  purpose  to  furnish  the  means  for  pursuing  academic  studies, 
to  supply  books  and  other  educational  requisites  to  destitute  Slavic 
communities,  and  promote  the  study  of  Slavic  history  and  literature. 
The  society  became  very  popular,  so  popular  that  the  Grand  Duke 
Constantine  and  other  people  of  prominence  were  induced  to  join 
it.  Political  objects  were  not  thought  of  at  first,  but,  after  a  time, 
Pogodin  took  the  place  of  Bachmetieff  as  the  head  of  the  committee 
at  Moscow ;  Lamanski  gained  the  control  of  the  committee  at  St. 
Petersburg;  the  breaking  out  of  the  Polish  insurrection  turned 
attention  to  political  affairs ;  political  aims  quite  overshadowed  the 
original  objects  of  the  society,  and  it  was  turned  into  an  agency  for 
the  propagation  of  Panslavism.  The  attention  of  the  committees 
was  not  directed  to  the  Turkish,  but  rather  to  the  Eastern-Austrian 
Slavic  lands,  particularly  to  Bohemia  and  the  Ruthenian  part  of 
Galicia,  where  the  national  feeling  has  been  very  active  since  1863. 
A  lively  business  has  been  done  in  circulating  Russian  books,  news- 
papers, church-furnishings,  and  pictures  in  these  countries,  in  which 
numerous  young  priests,  teachers,  writers,  and  officers  have  assisted. 

The  principal  objects  sought  by  the  committees  were  to  effect  an 
organization  for  the  spread  of  a  Russian  propaganda  in  the  Slavic 
foreign  States,  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  steady  rela- 
tions between  the  Northern  and  Southern  leaders,  and  to  make  it 
possible  to  work  in  any  given  case  with  machinery  already  adjusted 
and  in  efficient  operation. 

Only  two  non-Slavic  States  in  Europe,  Prussia  and  Austria,  now 
have  any  considerable  proportion  of  Slavs  among  their  subjects. 
They  are,  therefore,  the  particular  States  whose  interests  ar"e  un- 
favorably affected  by  the  Panslavic  movement.  They  are,  how- 
ever, affected  in  very  different  degrees.  Those  of  Prussia  are 
hardly  affected  at  all,  at  present  the  kingdom  finding  security 
against  Panslavic  agitations  in  two  facts.  First,  it.  is  the  interest 
of  the  Czar,  as  the  whole  course  of  the  war  has  shown,  to  cultivate 
the  friendship  and  support  of  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  who  is  also 
King  of  Prussia,  and  for  that  reason  he  would  not  tolerate  any 
action  originating  within  his  own  dominions  or  inspired  from  there 
which  would  give  the  Emperor  any  apprehension,  or  cause  him  to 
suspect  his  own  good  faith ;  second,  the  Slavic  subjects  of  Prussia 
are  chiefly  Poles,  who  as  Roman  Catholics  have  no  sympathy  for 


620  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

the  Greek  Church,  but  an  aversion  toward  it,  and  who  on  account 
of  national  grudges  hate  Russia,  and  everything  that  is  Russian,  with 
the  utmost  intensity.  Austria,  on  the  other  hand,  has  a  very  large 
Slavic  population,  a  considerable  portion  of  which  is  attached  to  the 
Greek  Church,  and  is  already  affected  with  Panslavistic  ideas.  The 
Slavophiles  have  a  promising  field  for  their  propagandism  among 
these  people,  and  have  already  made  themselves  dangerous  to  the 
peace  of  the  Empire. 

The  Czechs  of  Austria,  notwithstanding  the  predominance  of 
Roman  Catholics  among  them,  have  for  many  years  exhibited  a 
warm  interest  in  the  Panslavistic  movements,  hoping  by  their  aid 
to  achieve  their  own  independence.  They  have  caused  the  Gov- 
ernment considerable  anxiety  by  their  persistence  in  seeking  au- 
tonomy and  their  refusal  to  acknowledge  that  they  had  any  common 
concern  in  public  affairs  with  the  other  nationality.  "Within  the 
last  year,  the  Roman  Catholic  priests  have  taken  alarm  at  some  of 
the  religious  aspects  of  the  movement,  and  have  forbidden  their 
flocks  to  participate  in  the  demonstrations,  but  the  warning  has 
been  given  too  late  to  permit  the  expectation  that  it  will  be 
effective  to  restrain  an  agitation  which  has  become  so  extensive  and 
gained  so  much  momentum  as  that  for  Bohemian  autonomy. 

A  report  made  in  1878,  by  Mr.  Griinwald,  an  administrative  officer 
of  the  county  of  Sohler,  in  Hungary,  makes  a  formidable  exhibition 
of  the  progress  which  Panslavism  has  made  in  ten  counties  of 
Northern  Hungary,  where  is  gathered  a  population  of  1,800,000 
Slavic  inhabitants,  consisting  partly  of  Greek-Church  Ruthenians 
and  partly  of  Roman  Catholic  Slovaks.  Aided  by  the  similarity  of 
faith,  language,  and  liturgy,  the  Russian  propaganda  has  made  ex- 
tensive progress,  and  gained  a  firm  foothold  among  the  Ruthenians. 
The  churches  and  schools  are  liberally  pensioned  by  the  Russians, 
and  their  designs  are  therefore  materially  assisted  by  the  priests  and 
teachers.  The  Hungarian  Government  has  endeavored  to  counter- 
act the  evils  produced  by  this  condition,  by  exercising  its  authority 
in  the  appointment  of  the  bishops,  but  its  bishops  find  their  posi- 
tions the  reverse  of  easy,  and  their  authority  very  restricted. 

The  priests  and  teachers  are  also  the  leaders  of  the  agitation 
among  the  Slovaks.  Of  703  Roman  Catholic  priests  in  the  ten 
counties  which  form  the  subject  of  the  report,  268  belonged  to  the 
Panslavic  party,  and  99  of  the  178  Lutheran  pastors ;  and  they 
were  of  the  extreme  wing  of  the  party,  the  Lutherans  being  par- 


r AN  SLA  VIC  HOPES  AND  TENDENCIES.  621 

ticularly  zealous.  A  Slavic  national  casino  and  a  Slavic  printing- 
office  have  been  established  at  the  capital  of  the  county  of  Thurocz ; 
the  Panslavists  appear  to  be  masters  of  the  place,  and  the  post- 
master is  an  agent  of  the  Panslavic  committee,  and  was  reported  to 
exercise  his  functions  in  such  a  manner  as  to  keep  the  movements 
of  the  Government  officials  constantly  under  the  inspection  of  their 
propaganda.  Numerous  attractive  papers  are  published  by  the  com- 
mittee, some  of  which  were  distributed  gratuitously,  and  two  gym- 
nasia were  described  as  "  real  hatching-places  of  Panslavism."  The 
story  that  Russian  money  is  circulated  liberally  in  Hungary  is  pro- 
nounced to  be  no  creation  of  the  fancy,  for  the  books  of  the  post- 
master before  spoken  of  contain  accounts  of  monthly  remittances 
from  Russia.  This  report  gives  the  confirmation  of  an  official 
declaration  to  the  boasts  which  the  Panslavists  have  made  of  the 
extent  of  their  operations  in  the  Austrian  Empire,  and  to  the  prog- 
ress which  their  cause  has  made  among  the  people.  What  has 
taken  place  in  the  ten  counties  of  Northern  Hungary  has  been  going 
on,  with  such  differences  in  methods  and  degree  as  circumstances 
would  produce,  in  other  centers  of  Slavic  population  in  the 
Austrian  Empire,  till  the  whole  political  structure  of  the  State  is 
exposed  to  a  constant  danger  of  a  breaking  out  of  a  contention  of 
race  interests. 

The  Slavic  committees  of  Russia  were  secretly  very  active  dur- 
ing the  Bosnian  and  Herzegovinian  insurrections,  and  were  in  reality 
their  main  support  during  the  winter  of  1875  and  1876,  and  until  war 
was  declared  by  Servia  and  Montenegro.  Seeing  that  Herzegovina, 
both  on  account  of  the  character  of  the  country  and  by  reason  of  its 
nearness  to  Montenegro,  offered  the  most  promising  field  of  opera- 
tions, they  gave  their  principal  assistance  to  the  insurrectionists  in 
that  district.  Their  deputies  were  stationed  at  Ragusa  and  Cettigne 
in  the  latter  part  of  1875,  when  the  movements  of  the  insurgents 
had  come  to  a  stand-still,  and  the  insurrection  broke  out  very  soon 
afterward,  although  it  was  in  the  middle  of  the  winter,  with  re- 
newed violence.  The  rendezvous  of  the  plotters  was  at  the  house 
of  Colonel  Monteverde,  afterward  chief  of  staff  to  General  Tcher- 
nayeff  in  Servia,  at  Ragusa ;  their  funds  were  distributed  through 
the  banking-house  of  the  Messrs.  Boscovitch,  at  Ragusa,  and  the. 
most  effective  agent  of  the  committees  was  Mr.  Jonin,  Russian 
Consul-General  at  the  same  place.  The  money  with  which  the  in- 
surrection was  supported  was  collected  under  the  guise  of  taking 


622  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

care  of  the  poorrayahs  and  fugitives  in  Dalmatia,  Montenegro,  and 
Servia,  and  the  wounded  ;  but  the  real  destination  of  the  money 
may  be  judged  from  the  remark  made  by  M.  Vassiltchikoff,  Di- 
rector of  the  Hospital  at  Cettigne,  to  the  writer  from  whom  we 
derive  the  history  of  this  proceeding : *  "In  order  to  tend  the 
wounded,  one  must  first  procure  them  to  tend.  That  will  cost  us 
half  our  money ;  the  other  half  we  will  scrupulously  employ  in 
healing  them." 

Ivan  Aksakoff  was  appointed  Chief  of  the  committee  at  Moscow, 
in  place  of  Pogodin,  in  the  spring  of  1876.  The  declaration  of  war 
against  Turkey  by  Servia  and  Montenegro,  three  months  later,  ga-ve 
the  Slavophiles  an  opportunity  for  actual  work  that  they  had  never 
enjoyed  before.  That  the  Czar  and  numerous  high  officers,  includ- 
ing the  Chief  of  Police,  were  abroad,  was  a  favorable  circumstance 
for  them.  They  appreciated  the  situation,  and  took  advantage  of 
it ;  and  during  the  summer  of  1876,  the  two  committees  spread 
their  nets  over  the  whole  Empire,  and  soon  had  all  Russia  entangled 
in  their  meshes.  They  gave  the  initiation  to  the  numerous  festivals 
and  charitable  associations  by  which  the  interest  of  the  nation  in  the 
Servian  war  was  awakened  and  kept  up,  life  was  infused  into  the 
volunteer  movement,  sanitary  supplies  were  collected  for  Belgrade 
and  provisions  for  Bosnia.  In  consequence  of  this  activity,  the 
Czar  was  met,  when  he  returned  from  Germany,  with  a  cry  for  war 
which  he  could  not  well  ignore.  The  agents  of  the  committee 
stationed  at  Belgrade,  Moscow,  and  St.  Petersburg,  superintended 
at  the  former  place  the  distribution  of  the  collected  gifts,  and  at  the 
other  places  looked  out  for  a  continuance  of  the  supply.  The  recruit- 
ing and  fitting  out  of  volunteers  was  attended  to  in  Russia,  the 
assignment  of  the  recruits  and  the  adjustment  of  their  relations  with 
the  native  officers,  in  Servia,  all  under  the  auspices  of  the  society. 

The  press  was  engaged  in  the  service  of  the  committees.  Provision 
was  made  for  the  furnishing  of  correspondence  and  articles  in  behalf 
of  the  movement ;  the  interest  of  the  clergy,  of  prominent  women, 
young  men,  and  young  women,  was  engaged,  and  sympathy  with 
the  cause  of  the  Servian  brothers  was  made  popular  in  all  grades  of 
society,  and,  above  all,  fashionable.  Men  of  good  military  standing 
were  enlisted  among  the  volunteers ;  women  of  the  rank  of  the 
Princess  Shachovsky  engaged 'in  work  for  the  care  of  the  sick; 

*  Macmttlari's  Magazine,  November,  1877.   This  writer  professes  to  write  from  personal 
observations  and  acquaintance. 


PAN  SLA  VIC  HOPES  AND  TENDENCIES.  623 

counselors  interested  themselves  in  the  conduct  of  the  sanitary- 
trains  ;  excursions,  fairs,  concerts  were  projected  in  all  parts  of  the 
Empire,  and  returned  liberal  sums  to  the  treasury  of  the  society ; 
the  contribution-box  was  presented  at  every  dinner  and  large  meet- 
ing ;  the  cause  was  introduced  at  every  church  service  and  festival 
and  school-meeting ;  the  officers  of  the  Government  observed  the 
activity  with  respect  to  the  volunteers,  without  showing  anxiety, 
believing  that  it  afforded  a  safety-valve  for  the  unquiet  spirits  of 
the  Empire.  It  proved,  however,  to  be  the  source  of  complications, 
for,  at  the  very  height  of  its  activity,  the  Government  was  compelled, 
by  the  collapse  of  the  war  and  the  critical  situation  of  the  volunteers, 
to  come  out  from  its  position  in  the  background  and  take  the  lead 
of  the  movement. 

In  the  circles  around  the  Czar  and  the  central  offices,  opinions 
were  greatly  divided.  The  women,  the  younger  officers,  and  the 
priests  made  no  secret  of  their  enthusiasm  for  the  Servian  cause ; 
the  higher  dignitaries,  the  men  of  the  counting-houses,  the  Germans, 
and  the  Conservatives  of  the  old  school  held  aloof  from  it.  They 
made  use  of  the  defeat  of  the  Servian  army,  of  Tchernayeffs  un- 
authorized proclamation  of  a  Servian  kingdom,  and  of  other  events 
of  the  war,  which  involved  danger  to  Russian  honor,  as  arguments 
with  which,  nursing  the  Czar's  aversion  to  all  things  that  savored  of 
conspiracy  or  disorder,  they  hoped  to  prevent  his  giving  sympathy  to 
the  movement.  The  war  party  maintained  that  the  nation  had 
already  gone  too  far  in  the  support  of  the  Bosnian  and  Servian  com- 
plaints, to  stop  without  harm  to  Russian  influence  in  foreign 
diplomacy.  A  strong  word  from  the  Czar  and  a  significant  flourish 
of  the  sword  would  be  potent  to  compel  the  Porte  to  make  uncon- 
ditional concessions,  would  lead  to  a  triumph  of  Imperial  influence, 
and  would  serve  to  restrain  the  excesses  of  the  national  movement. 
There  was  force  in  the  views  of  both  parties,  and  the  Czar  sought  a 
middle  course,  when  on  the  llth  of  November,  1876,  he  made  that 
address  at  Moscow,  in  which,  after  condemning  the  course  of  Servia 
in  the  severest  and  most  unequivocal  language,  he  declared  that 
Russia  must  fulfill  the 'pledges  to  the  Slavic  peoples  which  Servia 
had  made.  The  order  for  the  mobilization  of  the  army  was  issued, 
which  all  Europe  regarded  as  foreshadowing  a  declaration  of  war, 
and  at  the  same  time  enlistments  for  Servia  were  forbidden,  the 
returning  volunteers  were  received  with  tokens  of  displeasure  at  the 
course  they  had  taken,  Tchernayeff  was  forbidden  to  return  to 


624  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST- 

Russia  for  some  time,  and  the  agitations,  which  had  been  publicly 
permitted  for  five  months,  were  suddenly  quieted.  The  pro-Servian 
enthusiasm  of  the  past  summer  was  afterward  mentioned  in  courtly 
circles,  with  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders  and  a  smile,  as  a  "  folly." 

Aksakoff  and  his  associates  showed  themselves  equal  to  the  diffi- 
culties of  the  situation.  They  received  warnings  and  notices  from 
the  Press-administration,  that  during  the  course  of  the  conference  at 
Constantinople,  communications  concerning  the  agitations  in  favor 
of  war,  and  particularly  publications  of  the  transactions  of  the  Slavic 
committees,  were  forbidden.  They  well  understood  the  change  that 
had  taken  place  in  the  views  and  decisions  of  the  Sovereign ;  but 
they  did  not  deviate  from  the  policy  which  they  had  hitherto 
followed  with  so  much  advantage. 

They  construed  the  speech  of  the  Czar  into  a  promise  to  answer 
the  wishes  of  the  people,  and  bring  them  to  a  true  fulfillment. 
Aksakoff,  with  great  skill  in  sophistical  interpretation,  declared  that 
the  divine  Czar  had  done  no  more  than  give  legal  expression  to  the 
voice  of  his  people,  and  had  expressed  the  firm  determination 
of  Russia  to  continue  on  the  road  it  had  already  traveled.  Only 
short-sighted  fools  could  doubt  what  the  Government  would  eventu- 
ally do,  and  what  it  owed  in  respect  to  external  affairs.  As  soon  as 
the  first  indignation  of  the  Government  had  passed  away,  the  com- 
mittee silently  resumed  its  interrupted  labors.  What  could  not  be 
spoken  in  public  places  was  said,  without  hesitation,  in  the  conver- 
sation of  parlors.  Pains  were  taken  to  secure  an  acceptable  com- 
prehension of  the  situation,  and  to  combat  the  "  unjust  judgment" 
which  had  overtaken  the  Servian  champions  and  their  comrades,  in 
consequence  of  a  single  mishap.  The  course  of  events  at  Constanti- 
nople worked  admirably  into  their  hands  by  seeming  to  confirm  all 
that  they  had  said  about  the  duplicity  of  Western  diplomacy  and 
the  obstinacy  of  the  Porte,  so  that  they  even  gained  ground  among 
their  former  opponents.  It  became  known  in  the  beginning  of  De- 
cember that  the  attention  of  his  Majesty  had  been  directed  to  Prince 
Tcherkassky,  Aksakoff 's  most  trusted  associate,  with  a  view  of  making 
use  of  Jiis  administrative  ability.  A  little  while  afterward,  the 
Prince  visited  the  headquarters  of  the  active  army  at  Kishenev, 
and  his  friends  at  Moscow  and  St.  Petersburg  felt  that  he  had 
gained  his  end.  His  appointment  as  civil  aide  to  the  future  Com- 
mander-in-chief of  Bulgaria  spoke  volumes,  and  care  was  taken  that 
the  news,  and  its  significance,  should  be  spread  into  the  quarters 
where  the  best  use  could  be  made  of  it. 


PANS  LA  VIC  HOPES  AND  TENDENCIES.  62$ 

"When,  at  the  beginning  of  the  new  year,  the  conference  had 
proved  a  failure,  and  it  was  evident  that  the  policy  of  the  Govern- 
ment would  be  changed,  but  before  the  censorial  prohibition  had 
been  removed,  the  Moscow  Gazette  published  an  address  which 
Aksakoff  had  made  at  a  meeting  of  the  Moscow  committee.  This 
address  denounced  the  attempt  to  effect  a  diplomatic  mediation 
between  Kussia  and  the  West  as  treachery,  and  reproached  the 
wavering  counselors  of  the  Czar  that  "  they  were  wandering  in 
darkness,  that  they  had  taken  the  false  lights  of  European  ideas  as 
their  guide,  were  wandering  in  diplomacy,  and  had  accepted,  without 
rebuking  them,  affronts  which  had  brought  blushes  to  the  face  of 
the  mortified  nation.  The  blood  of  our  slain  brothers,"  he  continued, 
"  is  not  yet  avenged,  but  is  treated,  as  if  it  were  the  blood  of  Hot- 
tentots, with  shame  and  scorn."  After  a  strong  exhortation  to 
resistance  against  the  "  treachery  which  has  spun  its  webs  in  Russia," 
he  closed  with  the  assertion  that  "  we  have  behind  us  the  people, 
before  us  the  words  which  the  Czar  has  spoken  from  the  heights  of 
the  Kremlin."  The  number  of  the  Moscow  Gazette  which  contained 
this  speech  was  confiscated.  But  thousands  of  copies  of  the  speech 
escaped  the  censorship,  and  were  circulated  all  over  the  Empire. 

Two  months  later  Aksakoff  made  another  speech  before  the  com- 
mittee. He  was  able  to  announce  the  complete  and  public  triumph 
of  the  cause  to  which  he  had  unequivocally  devoted  himself  in  the 
darkest  hour.  War  was  declared,  the  Slavic  committee  had  been 
converted,  with  the  approval  of  the  sovereign,  into  a  Slavic  Benev- 
olent Union,  to  which  its  President  was  able  to  announce  that  the 
time  for  mere  private  activity  was  over,  that  the  labors  which  had 
been  begun  by  the  committee  could  now  be  continued  in  the  full 
light  of  day,  and  that  his  Majesty  the  Czar  had  been  pleased  to 
intrust  to  the  civil  aid  of  the  command er-in-chief  the  duty  of  keep- 
ing up  a  direct  intercourse  with  the  Union.  A  delegate  of  the  Union 
would  accompany  his  Highness  to  the  scene  of  the  war,  and  he,  the 
President,  would  take  care  that  the  great  work  should  be  maintained 
at  the  height  of  the  standard  of  its  national  significance. 

An  enthusiastic  meeting  of  the  Russian  Club  at  Warsaw,  on  tho 
23d  of  May,  1877,  was  addressed  by  Professor  Mkitsky,  Professor 
of  Russian  History  at  the  University  of  Warsaw,  who  spoke  of 
Slavism  as  the  new  factor  which  had  appeared  on  the  historical 
scene.  Slavic  solidarity  had  now  come  forth  as  a  colossal  power, 
controlling  millions.  The  Slavs  appeared  before  the  eyes  of  aston- 


626  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

islied  Europe  as  one  family,  animated  with  one  thought,  one 
feeling,  one  will.  The  whole  Slavic  world,  with  Prague  at  its  head, 
encompassed  the  holy  Russia,  which  had  gained,  so  to  speak,  mil- 
lions of  new  sons.  It  had  undertaken  a  new  historical  labor — the 
freeing  of  the  Slavs — and  had  inscribed  "  the  Slavic  cause "  upon 
its  banners.  Another  speaker  said  that  the  Sagas  related  that  in 
the  old  times  three  brothers,  Czech,  Lech,  and  Rus,  had  come  from 
the  Danube  to  the  North  and  separated ;  "  God  grant  that  they  may 
meet  again  on  the  Danube."  Speeches  harmonious  with  the  others 
were  made  with  reference  to  the  Slavs  in  Germany  and  Bohemia. 

On  the  8th  of  November,  1877,  Aksakoff  made  a  noteworthy 
address  before  the  Slavic  committee  at  Moscow,  in  which  he 
regarded  the  war  from  a  national  Russian  point  of  view,  and  paid 
as  little  regard  to  the  interests  and  aspirations  of  the  West  of 
Europe  as  to  those  of  Turkey.  He  ascribed  the  poor  success  which 
had  attended  the  Russian  operations  in  the  war  to  the  errors  of  the 
leaders  of  the  nation,  or  the  "  elder  brothers,"  who  had  committed 
"  the  deadly  sin  which  is  the  root  of  all  our  social  evils  ;  the  sin  of 
forgetting  Russian  nationality."  The  processes  of  the  organic  life  of 
the  people  could  be  perceived  only  by  a  few,  who  had  raised  them- 
selves by  thought  and  education  above  the  ordinary  level.  The 
Russian  common  people  had  little  historic  knowledge  and  no 
abstract  conceptions  about  the  mission  of  Russia  in  the  Slavonic 
world ;  but  they  had  historical  instinct,  and  they  clearly  perceived 
one  thing,  that  the  war  was  caused  neither  by  the  caprice  of  an 
autocratic  Czar  nor  by  unintelligible  political  considerations.  Free 
from  all  ambition  and  all  desire  of  military  glory,  they  accepted  the 
war  as  a  moral  duty  imposed  by  Providence.  "The  Russian 
nation,"  he  said,  "  looks  upon  this  war,  not  as  the  outcome  of  the 
absolute  will  of  the  Czar,  but  as  its  own  cause — a  sacred,  inevitable 
work,  a  war  for  the  Orthodox  religion  and  the  whole  Slavic  brother- 
hood. The  popular  movement  of  1876  made  the  war  inevitable. 
That  which  the  national  conscience  pronounced  to  be  an  undoubted 
moral  duty  was  at  the  same  time  the  historical  mission  of  Russia 
as  the  head  and  representative  of  the  Orthodox  and  Slavic  world, 
which  has  not  yet  been  entirely  created,  and  awaits  its  future  de- 
velopment in  history.  All  the  importance  of  Russia  in  the  world  is 
based  on  her  national  and  religious  individuality,  which  has  grown 
up  from  her  internal  strength  and  her  spiritual  elements,  differing 
entirely  from  the  elements  of  Western  Europe ;  it  depends,  in  a 


PANSLA  VIC  HOPES  AND  TENDENCIES.  627 

word,  on  her  Orthodoxy  and  her  Slavism.  Russia  will  never  be  able 
to  attain  her  complete  development  until  she  brings  about  the 
victory  of  these  spiritual  elements  in  their  original  dwelling-places, 
or,  at  least,  until  she  restores  to  complete  legal  equality  the  peoples 
related  to  her  by  blood  and  feeling.  If  Russia  does  not  liberate  the 
Orthodox  East  from  the  Turkish  yoke  and  from  the  physical  and 
intellectual  encroachments  of  the  West,  she  will  become  an  organism 
with  a  defective  circulation,  condemned  to  remain  forever  a  cripple. 
The  war  was  therefore  as  much  an  imperative  necessity  for  her  as 
the  defense  of  her  own  existence,  or  as  the  natural  progress  of  her 
development,  of  her  growth,  as  the  stream  of  her  historical 

shaping Diplomacy,  that  genuine  figure  of  want  of  character 

and  of  national  indifferentism  with  an  unfeeling  heart,  which  shuns 
men,  began  its  activity  in  favor  of  the  enemies  of  Russia  and 
wholly  against  us.  Europe  was  quick  to  believe  the  report  of  the 
unwillingness  and  unreadiness  of  Russia  to  make  war,  and  stretched 
us  upon  the  rack  of  diplomatic  concessions.  Turkey  is  fighting  to  the 
death  for  her  religion  and  her  race,  while  our  diplomatists  and 
conservatives  tell  us  that  the  war  is  only  one  for  humanity  and 
civilization,  not  one  for  religion  and  race.  But  if  it  is  not  a  war 
for  religion  and  race,  it  is  an  absurdity.  Though  conservatives  may 
be  horrified  at  the  ideas  of  Slavism  and  Orthodoxy,  it  is  in  those 
ideas  that  our  strength  lies,  and  they  alone  can  lead  us  to  victory. 
Any  misunderstanding  on  this  point  is  dangerous.  Away  with  the 
senseless  and  colorless  device  of  the  interests  of  Europe !  '  Russia 
could  not  retreat  or  stop,'  though  all  Europe  should  place  itself  as 
a  wall  in  our  path.  Retreat  would  be  treachery  toward  the  suffer- 
ing Slavs,  treason  to  an  historical  mission,  and  the  beginning  of 
death.  Let  us  accept  new  burdens  and  make  new  sacrifices.  The 
historical  path  of  the  nation  has  been  and  is  still  surrounded  and 
obstructed  by  many  obstacles  and  many  trials ;  but  with  the  help 
of  God  it  has  overcome  them  in  the  past,  is  overcoming  them,  in, 
the  present,  and  will  overcome  them  in  the  future." 
34 


CHAPTER  Y. 

THE    PERIL    OF    AUSTRIA. 

The  immediate  Concern  of  Austria  in  the  Integrity  of  Turkey—  Austro-Hungarian  In- 
terests alone  Regarded  —  The  Heterogeneous  and  Discordant  Populations  of  the 
Empire-Kingdom—Decline  of  Austrian  Predominance  in  Germany  —  The  Compro- 
mise with  Hungary  —  Troubles  arising  out  of  the  Diversities  of  National  and  Race 
Interests  —  The  Czechs  and  the  Poles  —  Discontent  of  the  non-Magyar  Nationalities 
of  Hungary  —  Centrifugal  Tendencies  in  the  Empire  and  Kingdom  —  Hostile  Designs 
of  the  Panslavists  —  The  Magyars  Friends  of  Turkey  and  Enemies  of  Russia  —  Any 
Change  in  the  Eastern  Situation  Dangerous  to  Austria  —  Hungary  —  Views  of  Hun- 
garian Statesmen  —  Gen.  Klapka  —  Louis  Kossuth—  Jealousy  of  the  Visit  of  Signer 
Crispi,  and  his  Proposition  for  a  Confederation  of  Slavic  States  and  the  Enlarge- 
ment of  Greece  —  Pro-Russian  Influences  at  the  Court  of  Vienna. 


have  alluded,  in  the  two  preceding  chapters,  to  the  manner 
in  which  the  tranquillity  of  the  Austrian  Empire  is  imperilled  by 
the  national  aspirations  of  Rumania  and  Servia  on  the  one  hand, 
and  by  the  agitations  of  the  Panslavists  on  the  other.  It  is  the 
opinion  of  those  who  are  best  acquainted  with  the  affairs  of  Eastern 
Europe,  that  the  internal  condition  of  this  Empire  will  give  rise  to 
the  next  complications  which  will  occur  in  the  East  after  the  ques- 
tions relating  to  Turkey  are  settled  ;  nay,  more,  that  the  settlement 
of  the  Turkish  Question  will  have  an  immediate  and  important  in- 
fluence upon  the  aspect  of  those  affairs.  In  view  of  all  these  facts, 
it  seems  necessary  for  an  adequate  understanding  of  the  bearings  of 
the  Eastern  Question,  and  the  position  of  affairs  in  reference  to  it, 
to  give  a  more  particular  account  of  the  relations  of  Austria  to  the 
late  dependencies  of  Turkey,  of  the  manner  in  which  they  are 
affected  by  the  adjustments  now  going  on,  and  of  the  views  of 
prominent  statesmen  of  the  Empire  on  the  subject. 

The  Austro-Hungarian  Monarchy  is  more  immediately  and  deeply 
concerned  in  affairs  relating  to  Turkey,  and  the  adjustment  of  the 
Eastern  Question,  than  any  other  State.  Even  England  and  Russia 
must  give  place  to  it  in  the  extent  to  which  their  interests  are  in- 
volved, for  their  interests  in  Turkey  are  external,  and  relate,  at  the 

most,  to  colonial  matters  and  the  routes  of  trade  ;  while,  with  Aus- 

(628) 


THE  PERIL  OF  AUSTRIA.  629 

tria,  the  internal  social  conditions,  and  the  integrity  of  the  most 
essential  parts  of  the  Empire,  are  affected  bj  whatever  takes  place 
in  the  European  provinces  of  Turkey.  The  Empire  is  BO  surrounded 
by  Russian  and  Turkish  territory,  and  has  so  many  populations 
which  are  affiliated  by  race,  religion,  or  language,  or  all  of  them, 
with  contiguous  populations  in  those  States,  that  no  movement  can 
take  place  in  either  which  will  not  be  reflected  in  some  of  the  prov- 
inces of  Austria  and  Hungary. 

So  closely  and  predominantly  are  the  Austro- Hungarian  interests 
interwoven  with  the  Russo-Turkish  issues  that  the  minds  of  the 
statesmen  of  the  Empire,  in  considering  the  Eastern  Question,  are 
occupied  with  them  to  the  exclusion  of  all  the  other  questions  of 
popular  and  national  rights,  of  religious  privileges,  and  of  humanity, 
with  which  the  discussions  in  all  other  countries  are  diversified. 
These  questions  are  important,  they  admit,  and  deserve  consideration 
by  those  whose  position  permits  them  to  regard  them,  but  they  can 
only  look  to  their  own  preservation.  The  text  of  all  the  official 
Austrian  and  Hungarian  declarations  since  the  complications  began 
which  led  to  the  war,  has  been  the  same.  The  Imperial-royal  Gov- 
ernment (imperial  as  to  Austria,  royal  as  to  Hungary)  must  be  con- 
trolled in  its  course,  not  by  the  consideration  of  Turkish  interests, 
or  of  Slavic  interests,  or  of  Christian  interests,  but  of  Austro-Hun- 
garian  interests.  These  interests  were  thought  to  demand  the  full 
maintenance  of  the  territorial  integrity  of  Turkey,  but  for  quite  dif- 
ferent reasons  from  those  which  actuated  English  statesmen  in  seek- 
ing the  same  end. 

Austria  is,  with  the  exception  of  Russia,  the  most  heterogeneous 
as  to  its  population,  of  all  the  European  States ;  but  while  in  Russia 
one  race  has  an  overwhelming  preponderance,  Austria  enjoys  no 
such  advantage.  In  its  population  several  races  of  opposite  sympa- 
thies are  nearly  evenly  balanced.  Besides  Austria  proper,  and  the 
provinces  which  have  been  cut  off  from  other  kingdoms,  the  Empire- 
Kingdom  embodies  the  remains  of  such  once  important  kingdoms  as 
Bohemia,  a  part  of  Poland,  and  Hungary.  The  people  of  these 
kingdoms  have  no  sympathy  with  each  other,  and  one  of  them, 
Hungary,  is  worse  divided  against  itself  than  is  the  Empire  as  a 
whole. 

The  Austrian  Empire  began  in  effect  to  go  to  pieces  in  1859,  when 
it  lost  its  Italian  provinces.  Until  1866,  Austria  considered  itself  a 
German  State,  and  the  leader  of  Germany.  The  victories  of  Prus- 


630  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

sia  in  that  year  forced  it  to  retire  from  active  participation  in  Ger- 
man affairs,  and  to  endeavor  to  build  itself  up  as  an  East-European 
State.  Its  first  step,  and  a  wise  one,  was  to  reconcile  the  Hunga- 
rians. Through  the  "  Ausgleich  "  or  compromise,  of  which  the  Baron 
Von  Beust  was  the  principal  author,  it  restored  to  Hungary,  in  1867, 
the  substance  of  its  former  constitutional  privileges,  recognizing  it 
as  an  integral  and  at  the  same  time  independent  part  of  the  monarchy, 
of  which  the  Emperor  of  Austria  was  separately  crowned  the  king, 
with  a  distinct  title.  The  kingdom  was  given  a  separate  Diet  and  a 
special  ministry  of  its  own,  a  representation  in  the  General  Imperial 
Ministry,  and  a  joint  board  of  the  two  divisions  of  the  Empire  was 
constituted  to  meet  annually  and  arrange  certain  matters  common  to 
both.  In  the  division  of  the  Empire,  Croatia,  Transylvania,  Slavo- 
nia,  and  the  military  frontier  were  attached  to  Hungary,  and  Croa- 
tia was  given  a  local  autonomy.  The  other  provinces  were  attached 
to  Austria,  or  the  Cis-Leithan  division,  as  it  is  sometimes  called. 
The  result  of  this  arrangement  was  to  convert  the  Hungarians  from 
discontented  subjects  to  strong  supporters  of  the  Empire.  The  Cro- 
atians  have  seemed  on  the  whole  satisfied  with  it ;  but  the  Czechs, 
or  Bohemians  and  Moravians,  and  the  Poles,  have  never  accepted  it, 
but  have  been  made  only  more  eager  to  secure  like  privileges  for 
themselves.  Cis-Leithean  Austria  contains  in  round  numbers  about 
7,000,000  Germans,  5,000,000  Czechs,  2,500,000  each  of  Poles  and 
Ruthenians,  2,000,000  Slovenians,  587,500  Italians  (mostly  in  the 
Tyrol  and  Dalmatia),  207,900  Rumanians  in  Bukowina ;  Hungary 
contains  about  5,500,000  Magyars,  2,000,000  each  of  Germans  and 
Czechs,  2,500,000  Rumanians  in  Transylvania,  and  about  an  equal 
number  of  Croats  and  Servians.  As  a  whole,  the  Empire  contains 
9,000,000  Germans,  5,700,000  Magyars,  16,258,300  Slavs  of  all 
names,  2,700,000  Rumanians,  and  Italians,  who  though  they  num- 
ber less  than  600,000,  form  a  province.  All  of  these  people  but  the 
Magyars  and  Germans  have  sympathies  averse  to  the  present  system 
of  government. 

The  diversity  of  nationalities  is  the  primary  cause  of  all  the 
losses  which  the  Empire  has  suffered,  and  is  the  source  of  all  the 
intestine  commotions  which  still  afflict  it.  The  Czechs  in  Bohemia 
have  stood  in  firm  opposition  to  the  Government  ever  since  the 
compromise  with  Hungary  was  effected,  and  have  agitated  actively 
for  a  like  recognition  of  their  nationality.  They  remember  the 
glories  of  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Bohemia,  and  express  indignation 


THE  PERIL  OF  A  US  TRIA.  63 1 

that  it  has  been  extinguished  and  put  under  the  hands  of  Germans 
and  Magyars,  and  have  many  times  refused  to  be  represented  in  the 
Reichsrath.  In  1873,  the  Austrian  Government,  fearing  that  the 
Slavic  factionists  might  manage  to  secure  so  large  a  representation 
in  the  Reichsrath  as  to  endanger  the  Constitution,  secured  an  amend- 
ment to  the  electoral  law  providing  for  the  election  of  deputies  im- 
mediately by  the  people  instead  of  through  the  provincial  Diets, 
which  were  so  imbued  with  hostility  to  the  Government  that  it  was 
felt  they  could  not  be  trusted.  In  the  next  year,  the  Czechs  pre- 
sented to  the  Emperor,  on  the  occasion  of  his  visiting  Bohemia,  pe- 
titions for  the  decentralization  of  the  Empire  and  the  restoration  of 
Bohemian  autonomy,  some  of  which  were  so  strongly  worded  that 
it  was  deemed  prudent  not  to  take  public  notice  of  them.  The 
Galicians,  or  Poles,  manifest  a  similar  spirit,  but  in  a  less  demon- 
strative manner.  Their  immediate  aim  is  to  secure  the  autonomy 
of  their  province,  and  use  the  advantage  thus  gained  to  form  a 
nucleus  around  which  to  rebuild  a  Polish  Empire.  They  have  an 
intense  hostility  toward  Russia. 

The  discontent  in  Hungary  is  also  very  great.  A  convention  of 
Croats,  Slavonians,  Rumanians,  Slovaks,  and  Ruthenians,  which  was 
held  at  Temesvar  in  1868,  adopted  a  programme  favoring  a  confeder- 
ation according  to  nationalities,  protested  against  the  union  of  Tran- 
sylvania with  Hungary,  and  adopted  a  resolution  approving  the 
efforts  to  upset  the  compromise  of  1867,  because  its  provisions  were 
fatal  to  the  national  rights  of  the  non-Magyar  races.  The  Rumanians 
also  held  a  separate  conference,  the  resolutions  of  which  advocated 
abstention  from  the  elections  because  the  claims  of  the  Rumanian 
nation  had  been  disregarded  by  the  Reichstag  at  Pesth. 

The  Slavs  of  both  divisions  of  the  Empire,  notwithstanding  their 
disagreement  in  many  respects,  have  all  united  in  demanding  the 
recognition  of  their  several  idioms  as  the  language  of  instruction  in 
the  districts  where  they  prevail ;  the  Croatian  s,  Servians,  and  Slovens, 
as  well  as  all  the  other  tribes  of  Austria,  have  now  a  complete 
system  of  national  instruction,  embracing  elementary  schools  for 
every  town  and  village ;  a  large  number  of  gymnasia,  progymnasia, 
real  and  special  schools.  A  complete  university  has  been  established  at 
Agram,  which  has  been  organized  after  the  model  of  the  German 
universities.  Compulsory  school  laws  have  been  adopted  in  Austria 
proper  and  Hungary,  the  effect  of  which  will  be  to  raise  the  Slavic 
peoples  to  the  level  of  the  more  advanced  Teutonic  nations,  at  least 


632  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

so  far  as  the  universality  of  education  is  concerned.  The  educational 
system  will  also,  so  long  as  the  Slavic  languages  are  recognized,  con- 
tribute to  the  strengthening  of  their  national  feelings,  and  enlarge 
their  capacity  and  opportunity  to  make  them  manifest. 

The  security  of  the  Empire  and  kingdom  is  thus  endangered  by 
centrifugal  tendencies  which  are  powerful  in  every  part.  In  case  it 
should  be  divided,  there  would  be  but  little  difficulty  in  deciding 
upon  the  fate  of  its  component  nationalities.  The  Germans  desire 
to  have  a  part  again  in  the  affairs  of  the  German  Empire,  and  to  bo 
one  with  the  great  German  people,  and  are  already  not  a  little  dis- 
satisfied that  they  are  set  off  away  in  the  East  with  a  number  of 
nationalities  with  which  they  have  no  common  interest.  If  they 
were  sure  they  could  continue  to  rule  the  nation,  the  case  might  be 
different,  but  they  are  not  sure  of  it.  They  have  had  to  divide 
their  powers  with  the  Hungarians,  only  to  see  other  nationalities 
coming  up  to  claim  their  share  in  the  division.  They  labor  under 
the  constant  apprehension  that  they  will  sometime  become  only  a 
unit  among  the  other  constituents  of  the  State,  and  this  apprehen- 
sion keeps  them  desirous  of  asserting  their  German  relationship 
while  there  is  yet  time.  The  Czechs  and  Poles,  as  we  have  seen, 
aspire  to  a  separate  existence,  or  a  predominant  influence.  The 
Rumanians  hope  to  be  made  a  part  of  the  Rumanian  nation.  The 
Croats  and  Servians  in  the  Banat  and  the  military  frontier  dream 
of  becoming  part  of  the  renewed  Servia  and  of  seeing  united 
Servia  and  Bosnia  with  themselves  formed  into  a  Servian  or  Croatian 
Empire.  South  Tyrol  and  Trieste  are  gravitating  to  Italy.  Over 
all  the  Slavic  nationalities,  moreover,  hovers  the  great  Panslavic 
scheme  threatening  to  absorb  them  and  unite  them  in  a  grand  Slavic 
Empire,  which  Russian  agents  are  industriously  propagating  through- 
out the  country.  Some  of  the  Slavs,  it  is  true,  are  averse  to  this 
plan  in  the  exact  form  in  which  the  Russian  agents  urge  it,  because 
it  is  allied  with  the  Greek  Church,  while  they  are  Roman  Catholic, 
and  it  interferes  with  their  desire  to  restore  their  own  kingdoms,  but 
they  are,  nevertheless,  seeking  a  Slavic  independence,  and  are  al- 
ways ready  to  assail  the  Austrian  and  Hungarian  regimes. 

We  have  shown  in  the  previous  chapter  how  the  general  aims 
and  policy  of  the  Panslavists  are  detrimental  to  the  integrity  of 
the  Austrian  Empire,  and  have  cited  examples  of  the  character  and 
extent  of  their  operations  among  its  Slavic  populations.  The  fact 
of  their  entertaining  a  settled  design  of  dismembering  this  Empire, 


THE  PERIL  OF  AUSTRIA.  633 

as  the  State  which  stands  most  in  the  way  of  the  realization  of  their 
schemes,  is  confessed  and  made  prominent  in  the  work  on  "  The 
Military  Strength  of  Eussia,"  published  by  the  Russian  General 
Rostislav  Fadaieff,  a  Panslavist,  in  1869.  According  to  his  re- 
markably frank  exposition  of  the  designs  of  his  party,  it  is  the  duty 
of  Russia  not  only  to  extend  its  territory  in  Europe,  but  also  to 
make  allies  of  the  kindred  tribes  and  peoples  of  the  Orthodox  faith 
outside  of  the  Empire,  and  confirm  their  attachment  by  the  closest 
relations.  One  State,  Austria,  is  an  obstacle  to  the  consummation 
of  this  object.  Austria,  therefore,  must  be  considered  Russia's 
natural,  nearest,  and  most  dangerous  enemy.  The  condition  of 
enmity  exists  especially  in  respect  to  the  Eastern  Question,  which, 
according  to  General  Fadaieff ,  is  a  living  question  for  Austria  as  well 
as  for  Russia,  except  that  it  affects  them  in  an  opposite  direction. 
General  Fadaieff  then  delineates  the  strategical  and  political  situation 
of  Austria  in  reference  to  the  Eastern  Question,  showing  how  easily 
and  sensibly  Austria  could  affect  the  Russian  interests,  and  concludes 
that  there  is  but  one  means  of  opposing  this  wicked  power.  Russia 
must  take  in  hand,  with  decisive  will,  the  cause  of  all  the  Slavs  and 
all  the  Orthodox.  "  The  Greeks  and  the  Rumanians  are  not  nece&- 
sary  for  Russia,  but  they  are  dear  and  welcome,  because  they  are  of 
the  Orthodox  faith.  The  Polish  Question  will  be  ours,  if  we  make 
it  a  Slavic  Question.  "We  must  make  the  Poles  realize  that  they 
are  a  Slavic  people.  We  must  proceed,  in  a  similar  manner,  toward 
the  other  Slavic  peoples.  Russia  must  arouse  in  them  the  convic- 
tion that  their  national  leaders  have  their  support  and  reserves  there, 
that  every  Slav  has  there  his  home."  Fadaieff's  scheme  of  recon- 
struction of  the  Slavic  nationalities  contemplated  the  autonomy  of 
the  States,  which  should,  however,  constitute  together  a  single  Em- 
pire as  before  the  world,  and  place  the  conduct  of  international  and 
military  affairs  in  the  hands  of  the  great  Slavic  Czar,  their  common 
head,  while  their  own  particular  rulers  should  belong  to  branches  of 
the  same  family.  The  first  step  toward  the  attainment  of  this  ob- 
ject should  be  the  restoration,  within  ten  years,  of  Ismail  on  the 
Lower  Danube  and  of  East  Galicia.  The  later  proceedings  of  the 
Panslavic  leaders  form  a  striking  commentary  upon  the  sincerity 
of  these  declarations,  and  do  not  tend  to  diminish  the  alarm;  that: 
the  Austrians  feel  in  the  face  of  them. 

A  total  dissolution  of  the  Austrian  Empire   would  leave  the1 
Magyars  in  a  sad  state,  for  they  would  be  scattered  all  over  Hun* 


634  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

gary  among  the  other  nationalities,  and  deprived  of  the  power  of 
maintaining  their  existence  as  a  State. 

The  apprehension  of  such  a  dissolution  is  real  and  active  among 
the  Austro-Hungarian  statesmen,  and  has  guided  and  governed  their 
Eastern  policy  for  a  long  time.  The  Magyars  are,  moreover,  bitter 
enemies  of  the  Russians  and  warm  friends  of  the  Turks,  for  reasons 
peculiarly  their  own.  They  are  affiliated  by  race  with  the  Turks, 
being  Turanians  of  a  related  stock,  and  having  come,  centuries  be- 
fore the  Turks  appeared,  from  nearly  the  same  part  of  the  world 
which  was  ths  birth-place  of  the  latter.  They  remember  also  how 
Russia  helped  to  crush  their  national  movement  by  force  in  1848, 
and  how,  after  it  was  crashed,  Turkey  received  and  befriended  their 
exiled  patriots.  For  a  similar  reason  they  are  cool  toward  the 
Croatians,  because  the  Croatian  ban  Jellachich  and  Croatian  soldiers 
were  the  principal  instrument  of  its  own  military  force  which  Aus- 
tria used  to  suppress  their  rebellion. 

No  change  can  be  made  in  the  relations  of  the  European  depend- 
encies of  Turkey  that  does  not  seem  to  be  fraught  with  great  dangers 
to  Austria-Hungary.  If  Russia  annexes  any  of  them,  its  power  will 
be  strengthened  to  the  weakening  of  Austria,  and  a  fearful  impulse 
will  be  given  to  the  Panslavic  movement.  If  they  are  made  inde- 
pendent, or  are  formed  into  a  confederation,  the  non-German  and 
non-Magyar  provinces  of  Austria  and  Hungary  will  be  incited  to 
demand  to  be  joined  to  them  or  to  be  made  autonomous  States.  A 
proposition  to  give  one  of  them  to  Austria,  such  as  has  been  sug- 
gested as  a  possible  means  of  allaying  Austrian  jealousy,  is  men- 
tioned with  expressions  of  dread,  because  it  will  only  add  another 
Slavic  nationality  to  a  State  which  is  already  burdened  with  too 
many  such  incongruous  elements.  The  Magyars  especially  depre- 
cate such  a  scheme,  because  they  are  already  in  a  minority  in  Hun- 
gary, and  its  operation  would  be  to  increase  the  numerical  superiority 
of  the  dissatisfied  races. 

The  effect  which  the  establishment  of  the  autonomy  of  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovina  would  probably  have  upon  the  tranquillity  of  the  ad- 
joining Austrian  and  Hungarian  provinces  is  set  forth,  in  entire  har- 
mony with  these  views,  by  an  English  writer,  whose  article  appeared 
•while  the  negotiations  respecting  the  fate  of  the  Turkish  provinces 
were  still  the  subject  of  an  active  discussion.  He  said,  in  the  Lon- 
don Spectator  of  February  23,  1878 : 

"  The  principal  Slav  provinces  of  Austria  border  on  Bosnia  and 


THE  PERIL  OF  AUSTRIA. 

Herzegovina ;  the  population  is  a  difficult  one  to  govern,  especially 
that  portion  which  possesses  a  quasi- Italian  element,  and  it  must  be 
admitted  that  Austria  has  been  fairly  successful.  To  give  an  auto- 
nomical  form  of  government  to  the  two  Turkish  provinces,  to  make 
them  practically  independent,  with  an  amount  of  freedom  such  as  it 
is  politic  as  well  as  necessary  to  give  to  Bulgaria,  would  no  doubt 
result  in  an  unmixed  benefit  to  the  populations ;  but  it  would  un- 
questionably raise  a  very  strong  feeling  in  Croatia  and  Dalmatia, 
which  would  no  doubt  spread  into  the  adjacent  provinces,  and  put  a 
strong  disturbing  force  into  the  hands  of  Italy.  From  my  knowledge 
of  the  peoples  of  these  countries,  loyal  as  they  are  now  to  the  Aus- 
trian Crown,  I  do  not  believe  they  would  long  remain  so ;  and  con- 
stituted as  the  Empire  of  Austria  is,  occasion  would  never  be  want- 
ing for  the  creation  of  disturbances  which  would  shake  the  monarchy 
itself,  if,  indeed,  any  lengthened  continuance  of  them  did  not  dis- 
solve it.  "We  should,  in  fact,  be  only  closing  the  Eastern  Question 
to  open  an  Austrian-Slavonic  Question." 

Thus  the  Austro-Hungarian  nation  is  placed  in  a  position  in  which 
it  is  liable  at  any  day  to  have  to  face  the  question  of  what  excuse  it 
has  for  continuing  to  exist. 

Although  the  Government  has  refrained  from  making  official  ex- 
pressions bearing  directly  upon  these  points,  utterances  and  acts  are 
not  wanting  to  show  that  it  has  had  them  in  view,  while  the  indi- 
vidual expressions  of  the  journals  and  of  the  leading  men  upon  the 
subject,  especially  in  Hungary,  have  been  very  free.  Semi-official 
communications  were  published  in  the  Hungarian  papers  in  May, 
18T7,  which  were  intended  to  appease  the  agitation  for  a  war  with 
Russia.  They  conveyed  the  assurance  that  the  Government  would, 
under  no  circumstances  whatever,  approve  the  union  of  Servia,  Bos- 
nia, and  Herzegovina  into  a  separate  State  under  an  Austrian  Arch- 
duke, "  as  such  an  arrangement  would  not  afford  any  guarantee  to 
Hungary  against  the  prejudicial  influence  likely  to  be  exercised  by 
such  a  State  upon  Hungarian  interests,"  and  gave,  as  among  the 
points  of  Count  Andrassy's  programme:  "The  position  of  Ru- 
mania is  to  be  regulated  only  in  accordance  with  our  interests.  Ser- 
via is  not  to  annex  anything.  Ko  large  Slavic  State  is  to  be  estab- 
lished in  South-eastern  Europe.  A  Russian  protectorate  over  the 
Danubian  territories  is  out  of  the  question."  The  apprehension  was 
often  expressed,  that  if  the  destruction  of  the  Turkish  Empire  were 
allowed,  Austria-Hungary  would  be  the  next  object  of  attack,  and  it 


636  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

would  soon  share  the  fate  of  its  Ottoman  neighbor.  Gen.  Klapka 
made  a  speech  at  an  important  public  meeting  in  Pressburg,  on  the 
13th  of  August,  1877,  in  which  he  said  that  the  conviction  had  been 
reached  in  Hungary  that  if  Russia  succeeded  in  the  East,  the  turn  of 
Hungary  would  come  next.  What  can  we  substitute,  he  asked,  for  the 
Turks  after  they  shall  have  been  driven  out  of  Europe  ?  "  Is  there 
a  single  people  in  European  Turkey  which  would  be  in  a  condition 
to  display  one-tenth  of  the  force  with  which  the  Turks  have  defend- 
ed their  cause  ?  But  if,  contrary  to  our  hopes  and  wishes,  Turkey  is 
overcome  by*  Russia,  we  should  ask,  what  will  be  the  consequence  to 
Hungary  and  the  Austro-Hungarian  monarchy  ?  .  .  .  .  After  Servia, 
Rumania,  Montenegro,  and  Bosnia  are  brought  completely  under 
Russian  control,  and  are  made  to  do  whatever  Russia  orders  them, 
and  Bulgaria  has  shared  their  fate,  Russia  will  be  lord  of  European 
Turkey  and  will  command  the  mouths  of  the  Danube.  If  Constan- 
tinople is  made  a  free  city,  it  will  only  be  to  fall  finally  into  the 
pocket  of  Russia.  But  can  we  hope  that  these  people,  after  they 
have  been  enabled  to  gratify  their  morbid  aspirations — Rumania  for 
a  great  Daco-Rumanian  kingdom,  and  Servia  for  a  great  Servian 
kingdom — will  be  satisfied  with  the  country  freed  from  Turkey,  and 
will  not  seek  to  possess  Rumania,  all  the  Rumanians,  and  Servia,  the 
so-called  Yoyvodina,  Batschca,  and  Slavonia  ?  While  if  Turkey  pre- 
vails, it  is  plain  that  these  people  will  pursue  their  development  in 
other  and  peaceful  ways,  and  Turkey  itself  will  remain  our  true 
friend,  possessing  a  power  in  our  favor,  the  worth  of  which  has  been 
displayed  even  just  now  on  twenty  battle-fields." 

A  few  days  afterward,  Louis  Kossuth  addressed  a  letter  to  a  pub- 
lic meeting,  in  which  he  advocated  efforts  to  prevent  a  Russian  con- 
quest, urging  that,  if  they  were  not  made,  the  Czar  would  be 
regarded  as  the  great  Panslavist  leader;  that  the  aspirations  of 
Panslavism  to  rule  the  world  would  be  grouped  around  the  Czar- 
ism  ;  that  this  would  be  the  star  to  lead  the  way  of  the  movement, 
its  lord  to  command  it,  its  Messiah,  for  whose  call  it  would  wait ;  its 
God,  whom  it  would  worship,  and  that  out  of  Panslavism  would 
be  developed  Pan-Czarism ;  but  that,  if  the  Czar  were  sent  home 
without  a  victory,  the  charm  would  be  broken,  and  the  Panslavist 
aspirations  would  lose  their  spur.  Then  the  different  Slavic  nations 
would  seek  their  salvation,  not  in  the  culture  of  Czarism,  which  only 
leads  to  Russification,  and  into  the  fetters  of  slavery  and  brutality,  but 
in  the  upholding  and  elevation  of  their  own  individuality.  This, 


THE  PERIL  OF  AUSTRIA.  637 

lie  said,  is  the  way  that  leads  to  the  gain  of  freedom  where  it  does 
not  yet  exist,  to  the  upholding  and  development  of  it  where  it  is 
already  possessed.  The  sympathy  and  help  of  the  Hungarian  peo- 
ple would  be  with  the  nationalities  in  seeking  such  a  career.  In  a 
subsequent  letter,  this  statesman — one  of  the  bitterest  enemies  of 
Austria — declared  that  the  life-interests  of  Hungary  lay  with  that 
Empire,  and  advised  his  countrymen  to  defend  it  to  the  last  drop  of 
their  blood.  The  integrity  of  Turkey,  he  averred,  must  be  main- 
tained, at  all  events,  against  Russia,  the  greatest  enemy  of  Europe. 
He  praised  his  countrymen  for  having  rejected  with  indignation  the 
immoral  and  improvident  thought  of  consenting  to  a  division  of 
Turkey  with  Kussia,  and  predicted  that,  "  if  St.  Petersburg  and 
Vienna  should  divide  the  fragments  of  Turkey  between  them,  in 
less  than  twenty-five  years  Russia  and  Germany  and  Italy  would 
combine  to  divide  Austria  and  Hungary  among  themselves."  M. 
Kossuth  repeated  these  views,  at  greater  length,  but  without  pre- 
senting any  new  points  of  importance,  in  an  article  which  he  pub- 
lished in  the  Contemporary  Review  for  December,  1877. 

The  visit  of  Signer  Crispi,  the  President  of  the  Italian  Chamber 
of  Deputies  (afterward  made  Minister  of  the  Interior),  to  Yienna 
and  Pesth,  in  October,  1877,  was  regarded  with  jealousy  by  the 
press  of  both  States.  It  was  suspected  that  he  came  to  sound  the 
Imperial  Government  as  to  whether  it  would  be  willing  to  permit 
Italy  to  receive  a  slice  of  Turkish  territory  on  the  Adriatic,  and 
those  journals  let  it  be  immediately  understood  that  no  such  acquisi- 
tion of  territory  would  be  tolerated.  They  saw  in  it  the  first  step 
toward  the  loss  of  Dalmatia  and  the  Italian  city  of  Fiume,  now 
belonging  to  Hungary.  The  suggestion  for  a  confederation  of  the 
Slavic  States,  and  the  extension  of  Greece  to  the  Balkans,  which 
Crispi  threw  out  at  a  banquet  of  Deputies  at  Pesth,  was  criticised 
with  much  disfavor.  Such  a  confederation,  it  was  agreed,  was, 
throughout,  against  the  interests  of  Hungary,  and  responded  only  to 
the  wishes  of  Russia. 

These  unfavorable  expressions  were  justified  in  part  by  the  fact 
that  Mazzini,  the  distinguished  Italian  Republican,  had  expressed 
the  opinion,  in  his  essays  on  the  Eastern  Question,  written  between 
1857  and  1871,  that  the  maintenance  of  the  Austro-Hungarian  and 
Ottoman  Empires,  in  their  present  state,  was  an  impossibility,  and 
that  their  place  would  be  taken  by  four  Slavic  States  or  Confedera- 


638  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

tions,  and  that,  when  Austria  fell,  the  Southern  Tyrol  and  Istria 
would  naturally  become  a  part  of  Italy. 

The  course  of  the  Government  was  apparently  controlled  by  a  de- 
termination to  adhere  to  the  Tri-Imperial  Alliance  as  long  as  possi- 
ble— at  least,  until  an  Austrian  or  Hungarian  interest  was  put  in 
imminent  danger.  A  party  at  the  Court  of  Vienna  was  often 
spoken  of,  which  was  understood  to  be  under  German  influences, 
and  to  be  favorable  to  a  co-operation  with  Russia  in  its  attack  upon 
the  Porte ;  and  it  was  accredited  with  having  been  able  to  persuade 
the  Government  to  such  an  extent  that  it  inclined  to  seek  a  policy 
between  the  one  indicated  and  that  which  was  advocated  by  the 
Magyar  leaders.  Although  the  personal  feelings  of  the  Emperor 
were  in  actual  sympathy  with  those  of  the  Germans,  and  although 
the  Government  reposed  great  confidence  in  the  advice  of  the  Ger- 
man Emperor  and  his  Chancellor  during  all  the  trying  scenes  of  the 
war,  its  course  does  not  appear  to  have  been  changed  under  any  of 
the  conflicting  influences  which  were  brought  to  bear  against  it,  but 
to  have  been  pursued  in  adherence  to  the  neutrality  which  was  an- 
nounced at  the  beginning  of  the  war. 

An  official  expression  of  regard  for  other  interests  than  those  of 
the  Empire,  was  made  at  the  opening  of  the  Chambers  on  the  10th 
of  December,  when  Count  Andrassy  declared  that  he  was  opposed 
to  the  idea  that,  in  compliance  with  external  prejudices,  the  Chris- 
tian populations  of  Turkey  should  be  under  Turkish  rule.  This 
was  regarded  by  some  partisans  as  a  concession  to  the  German 
party  at  the  Court.  It  was,  more  probably,  a  concession  to  the 
plainest  principles  of  humanity,  which  even  an  Austrian  Chancellor, 
with  the  fate  of  the  precarious  fabric  of  an  unhomogeneous  State  in 
his  hands,  could  not  always  evade. 

The  Government  made  a  cautious  expression  of  opinion  respecting 
the  bearing  of  the  peace  preliminaries  proposed  by  Russia  and  ac- 
cepted by  Turkey,  when  on  the  19th  of  February,  1878,  the  Austrian 
Minister-President  in  the  Reichstag,  and  the  Hungarian  Minister- 
President  in  the  Diet,  stated,  in  answer  to  questions,  that  among  the 
stipulations  were  some  which  could  not  be  brought  into  harmony 
with  the  interests  of  the  Austro-Hungarian  Monarchy.  This  remark 
did  not  apply  to  those  stipulations  meant  to  improve  the  condition 
of  the  Christian  populations  of  Turkey,  which  Austria-Hungary 
always  had  at  heart  as  much  as  any  other  power,  but  to  those 


THE  PERIL  OF  AUSTRIA.  639 

which  might  produce  changes  in  the  relative  position  of  the  Euro- 
pean powers  in  the  East.  The  Government,  however,  hoped  that  it 
would  be  possible  to  smooth  over  these  difficulties,  and  that  a  solu- 
tion would  be  effected  which  would  lead  to  a  lasting  peace,  as  satis- 
fying all  interested.  But,  in  all  circumstances,  the  Government 
would  regard  it  as  its  main  task  to  protect  the  interests  of  the  mon- 
archy in  every  respect  and  in  every  direction.  The  efforts  of  the 
Russian  diplomats  in  their  intercourse  with  Austria  were  for  some 
time  after  this  directed  to  the  devising  of  measures  to  conciliate  the 
Austrian  interests  and  remove  their  objections  to  the  substantial 
consummation  of  the  Russian  scheme. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ENGLAND     AND     RUSSIA. 

Fear  of  Russia  entertained  by  the  Powers — Early  advances  of  Russia  toward  Constanti- 
nople— Frederick  the  Great  on  the  Threatening  Power  of  Russia— Will  of  Peter  the 
Great — British  Interests  in  the  East — Russia  and  England  Rivals  in  Asia — Russian 
Conquest  Dangerous  to  the  British  Tenure  of  India — Kashgar  and  Russia — Afghan- 
istan, its  Importance  to  British  Interests — Russian  Influence  in  Persia — The  Blunder- 
ing Diplomacy  of  the  English  Government  Condemned— Position  of  the  English 
Parties  on  the  Question — Counter-arguments  of  the  anti-Russians  and  the  anti- 
Turks — Views  of  the  British  Cabinet  and  Conservative  Statesmen — The  Positions 
assumed  by  the  Liberal  Statesmen — Moderated  tone  of  the  English  Journals — Why 
England  and  Russia  should  not  Quarrel — They  are  the  Destined  Rulers  of  Asia — What 
Benefits  they  have  Conferred  upon  it — What  they  may  yet  Accomplish  for  its  Civiliza- 
tion and  Prosperity. 

THE  increase  of  territory  and  population  which  accrues  to  Russia 
by  the  peace  of  San  Stefano  is  not  as  great  as  the  increase  in  pres- 
tige and  in  indirect  influence.  The  actual  increase  in  territory  and 
population  is  in  fact  small,  comprising  only  that  part  of  the  Dobrudja 
which  it  is  proposed  to  exchange  for  Rumanian  Bessarabia  and  a 
small  territory  in  Armenia ;  but  the  increase  in  prestige  and  influ- 
ence is  very  great.  It  amounts  to  the  conquest  of  the  chief  Mussul- 
man power,  the  power  to  which  most  of  the  other  Mohammedan 
nations  of  the  world  looked  up  as  their  head,  and  to  the  establishment 
of  a  new  State  touching  both  the  Mediterranean  and  Black  Seas,  over 
which  no  pains  will  be  spared  to  make  Russian  influence  supreme. 
It  establishes  a  permanent  terror  among  the  Mohammedan  nations 
of  Asia,  which  already  had  reason  enough  to  fear  Russia,  and  plants 
a  thorn  in  the  flesh  of  all  the  Mediterranean  powers.  Most  of  the 
European  Governments  have  seemed  to  feel  these  facts  keenly ;  and 
even  the  German  Government,  which  has  been  regarded  as  the  sup- 
porter of  Russia  to  a  certain  extent,  has  repeatedly  shown  that  it 
was  not  indifferent  to  the  sudden  exaltation  its  neighbor  had  re- 
ceived, and  has  more  than  once  intimated  that  there  might  be  a 

limit,  beyond  which  it  would  not  allow  it  to  go  without  a  protest. 
(.640) 


ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA.  641 

The  jealousy  and  fear  which  the  rival  powers  entertain  of  Russia 
are  not  of  recent  growth.  They  have  been  felt  and  expressed  by 
the  rulers  of  different  nations  ever  since  the  Muscovite  State  became 
important  enough  to  attract  the  attention  of  its  neighbors.  They 
have  increased  as  its  dominions  have  been  extended  on  every  side, 
have  been  fed  by  every  new  addition  to  the  territory  of  the  Czars, 
and  have  been  intensified  in  the  States  which  have  successively  been 
victims  of  Russia  whenever  some  of  their  fair  provinces  have  been 
torn  from  them.  The  tendencies  of  Russia  toward  Constantinople 
and  the  East  have  been  noticed  since  the  very  foundatian  of  the  re- 
public of  Novgorod.  A  Hungarian  writer,  Mr.  Benjamin  Yon 
Kallay,  in  a  pamphlet  recently  published  in  Pesth,  recalls  the  facts, 
hitherto  hardly  noticed,  that  an  expedition  of  the  comrades  of  Rurik 
descended  the  Dnieper  to  the  Black  Sea  in  the  year  866,  and  devas- 
tated the  country  around  Constantinople ;  that  a  second  expedition 
under  Oleg,  attacked  Constantinople  from  the  land  and  the  sea  in 
905,  the  land  force  having  marched  through  Bessarabia,  Rumania, 
and  Bulgaria,  and  over  the  Balkans,  and  that  three  other  attempts 
were  made  against  the  Eastern  capital  during  the  tenth  and  eleventh 
centuries,  and  while  it  was  still  in  the  hands  of  the  Christian  Em- 
perors. The  series  of  expeditions  was  afterward  interrupted  by  the 
dominance  of  the  Tartars  in  the  present  territory  of  Russia,  but  the 
efforts  against  Constantinople  were  resumed  as  soon  as  the  Tartars 
had  been  overcome,  and  Russia  had  gained  liberty  to  follow  its 
destiny. 

The  German  Ambassador  in  Washington,  Kurd  Yon  Schlozer, 
has  shown  in  an  article  published  in  the  New  York  Bellet/ristisches 
Journal  of  March  29th,  that  Frederick  the  Great  of  Prussia  ex- 
pressed his  apprehension  of  the  danger  which  would  accrue  from 
the  growth  and  ambition  of  Russia  without  reserve.  In  1769,  after 
he  had  formed  an  alliance  with  the  Empress  Catharine,  he  wrote, 
"  Prussia  has  reason  to  fear  that  its  ally,  become  too  powerful,  may 
seek  some  time  to  impose  laws  upon  it,  as  it  has  done  to  Poland ; " 
and  he  wrote  to  Prince  Henry  at  about  the  same  time :  "  It  (Rus- 
sia) is  a  terrible  power,  which  in  the  course  of  half  a  century  will 
make  all  Europe  tremble.  Offspring  of  the  Hunns  and  Gepidse 
which  destroyed  the  Eastern  Empire,  they  will  be  able  in  a  little, 
while  to  attack  the  "West,  and  cause  the  Austrians  to  grieve  and 
repent  that  in  their  mistaken  policy  they  have  called  this  barbarous 
nation  into  Germany  and  taught  it  the  art  of  war.  ...  At  present, 


642  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

I  see  no  remedy  for  them,  except  in  forming  in  the  future  a  league 
of  the  great  sovereigns  to  oppose  the  dangerous  torrent." 

The  Emperor  Napoleon  I.  also  had  a  keen  appreciation  of  the 
dangers  of  Russian  aggressions,  and  made  the  destruction  of  Rus 
sian  power  a  prominent  object  in  his  campaigns.  To  him  was  at- 
tributed the  prediction,  which  has  often  been  quoted,  that  in  fifty 
years  Europe  would  be  either  Republican  or  Cossack.  The  docu- 
ment called  the  will  of  Peter  the  Great,  although  it  has  been  proved 
a  forgery,  was  for  some  time  regarded  as  genuine,  and  had  a  per- 
ceptible effect  in  stimulating  the  fear  inspired  by  Russia.  It  was 
supposed  to  represent  the  plans  of  the  great  Czar  for  the  future  ex- 
tension of  the  power  and  influence  of  the  Empire  and  the  eventual 
conquest  of  Europe,  and  to  have  been  left  by  him  as  a  guide  for  his 
successors  to  follow.  The  affectation  of  carelessness  which  was 
given  to  its  style,  so  as  to  make  it  appear  more  like  a  memorandum 
than  an  elaborate  document,  and  the  mention  of  events  which  oc- 
curred after  the  death  of  Peter  so  that  they  should  seem  to  be  de- 
velopments of  the  policy  it  outlined,  contributed  to  give  it  currency. 
The  document  is  so  frequently  referred  to  in  the  literature  relating 
to  the  Eastern  Question  that  we  give  in  an  appendix  a  full  account 
of  its  history. 

The  advances  of  Russia  toward  the  East  have  appeared  more 
prominent,  and  have  attracted  a  greater  degree  of  attention  within 
the  last  half  century  than  the  dangers  to  the  "West.  In  the  East, 
Russia  is  brought  into  direct  conflict  especially  with  two  of  the 
powers,  Austria  and  England.  "We  have  shown  in  a  previous 
chapter  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  bearing  which  Russian  move- 
ments in  Turkey  have  upon  the  condition  of  the  Austrian  Empire. 
Great  Britain,  also,  as  a  leading  commercial  nation  is  greatly  con- 
cerned in  all  that  takes  place  in  the  Eastern  Mediterranean, 
especially  in  all  that  relates  to  the  trade  of  the  coasts  and  the  free- 
dom of  navigation;  as  a  Christian  State  holding  large  Mohammedan 
populations  under  its  rule,  it  is  vitally  interested  in  all  that  affects 
the  relations  of  the  Christian  and  Mohammedan  nations ;  and  as  the 
owner  of  large  territories  in  Asia,  toward  which  the  Russian  con- 
quests are  steadily  advancing,  it  watches  all  the  movements  of 
Russia  and  all  indications  of  its  policy  for  the  future  with  a  most 
intense  anxiety,  which  is  aggravated  by  the  fact,  that  these  two 
powers,  the  greatest  on  the  earth,  and  the  only  powers  which  can  ap- 
proach each  other  in  extent  and  resources,  are  stretching  their 


ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA,  643 

efforts  to  reach  the  same  points,  and  are  rivals  for  dominion  and 
prestige  in  a  sense  and  to  a  degree  which  surpass  all  other  rivalry 
among  existing  nations.  Thus,  the  action  of  Russia,  whether  it  re- 
late to  Central  and  Eastern  Asia  or  to  Turkey,  is  scrutinized  in 
England  with  suspicion,  as  involving  a  menace  in  either  case ;  and 
the  combination  and  complication  of  interests  are  such,  that 
anxiety  concerning  one  aggravates  that  concerning  the  other. 
Since  Russia  is  always  making  some  movement  regarding  Turkey 
or  the  East,  the  relations  of  the  two  countries  are  always  in  a 
critical  condition.  The  discussion  of  "  British  Interests"  has  been 
among  the  more  prominent  features  of  the  war  and  the  negotiations 
which  have  taken  place  concerning  it ;  the  existence  of  those 
interests  forms  one  of  the  most  formidable  and  permanent  obstacles 
to  the  satisfactory  settlement  of  the  Eastern  Question ;  and  the 
jealousies  and  conflicting  motives  of  England  and  Russia  occupied 
the  largest  share  of  the  world's  attention  immediately  after  the  con- 
clusion of  the  peace  of  San  Stefano.  For  these  reasons,  an  expla- 
nation of  the  character  of  the  British  interests  and  of  the  relations 
into  which  they  have  been  brought  with  the  transactions  and  issues 
of  the  war  is  necessary  to  an  adequate  understanding  of  the  situa- 
tion and  the  course  which  events  are  taking. 

Russia  and  England  are  opposed  to  each  other  on  all  questions  re- 
lating to  the  East,  because  they  are  rivals  for  trade  and  dominion  in 
the  East.  The  trade  relations  of  both  powers  in  Asia  have  been 
built  up  with  great  expense  and  are  nourished  with  great  care. 
Dominion  is  sought  by  both  powers,  not,  as  they  profess,  on  its 
own  account,  for  both  are  already  embarrassed  by  the  extent  of  their 
territories  and  the  lack  of  homogeneousness  of  their  peoples,  but 
as  an  incident  of  trade  and  a  necessary  means  of  protecting  com- 
mercial relations  that  are  already  established.  The  political  and 
commercial  relations  of  either  nation  are  so  connected  with  every 
part  of  the  land  of  Asia,  that  hardly  a  question  can  arise  with  ref- 
erence to  any  part  of  the  continent  that  will  not  in  some  way  affect 
the  interests  of  one  or  the  other  of  them,  and  often  bring  them  into 
conflict.  As  the  acquisitions  of  both  powers  have  been  extended 
within  the  present  century,  the  boundaries  of  their  territories  have 
steadily  approached  each  other,  until  now  a  comparatively  narrow 
neutral  zone  stands  between  them,  and  the  time  is  looked  forward 
to  as  possibly  not  far  distant  when  the  pioneer  armies  of  the  two- 
States  shall  meet  to  dispute  about  the  boundary  line.  In  anticipat- 
35 


644  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST- 

tion  of  this  period,  a  brisk  diplomatic  war  lias  been  carried  on  for 
several  years  between  the  envoys  of  the  two  powers  in  the  States 
intervening  between  Russian  Asia  and  British  India,  with  the  object 
of  gaining  the  precedence  of  influence  and  advantageous  position. 

It  is  chiefly  by  reason  of  these  circumstances  that  the  Eastern 
Question  has  acquired  so  much  greater  importance  for  England  and 
Russia  at  this  time  than  it  had  even  during  the  Crimean  war.  For 
it  is  since  the  Crimean  war  that  the  Russian  Empire  has  been 
stretched  so  far  toward  the  East  that  its  continued  advance  can  be 
regarded  as  involving  a  definite  threat  to  the  integrity  of  the  British 
Empire ;  and  what  was  then  only  a  vague  question  of  general  in- 
fluence and  of  events  which  might  take  place  in  a  distant  future, 
has  become  for  England  an  intensely  practical  problem  of  the  safety 
of  its  Indian  Empire.  The  question  is  all  the  more  momentous  for 
England  because  its  tenure  of  India  is  in  reality  very  frail.  Its  two 
hundred  thousand  or  more  of  colonists  in  India  are  only  as  a  drop 
in  the  bucket,  by  the  side  of  the  two  hundred  and  forty-five  millions 
of  the  native  and  Mohammedan  population  ;  and  all  the  armies  it 
could  pour  into  the  country  would  be  insufficient  to  repress  an  insur- 
rection of  the  inhabitants,  supported  by  such  able  and  skilled  lead- 
ers as  they  possess  of  both  races.  The  British  had  a  foretaste  of  the 
difficulties  they  would  encounter  in  case  of  such  an  insurrection  in 
the  mutiny  of  185Y,  and  have  since  then  constantly  given  their  best 
attention  to  the  provision  of  measures  that  would  render  it  impossi- 
ble for  an  insurrection  to  gain  headway.  The  best  of  such  measures 
would  be  futile  if  a  powerful  neighbor  were  on  the  frontier,  ready, 
for  the  sake  of  promoting  its  own  interests,  to  stir  up  discontent  and 
give  assistance  to  a  revolt.  Russia,  it  is  feared,  might  become  such 
a  neighbor. 

The  Chinese  Empire  has  been  sorely  disturbed  during  the  last 
twenty  years  by  insurrections  among  the  Mohammedan  populations 
of  its  western  provinces,  who  are  of  a  kindred  race  with  the  Turks, 
and  the  Russians  have  not  scrupled  to  take  advantage  of  these  move- 
ments to  further  their  own  purposes.  The  Sungarians  of  Northern 
Mongolia  having  risen  and  expelled  the  Chinese  from  the  land  of 
Hi  and  Kuldsha,  the  Russians  came  in  and  occupied  the  territory, 
signifying  their  intention  to  hold  it  until  the  Chinese  should  be  in  a 
condition  again  to  extend  their  authority  over  it.  With  this  occu- 
pation they  came  into  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  new  Mo- 
hammedan State  of  Kashgar,  which  the  adventurous  chieftain  Yakub 


ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA.  645 

Beg  had  erected  since  1864  within  the  boundaries  of  another  Chi- 
nese province.  They  were  thus  brought  into  a  suggestive  proximity 
to  the  North-western  Indian  States,  with  which  the  British  in  India 
had  been  accustomed  to  cultivate  the  closest  relations  next  to  incor- 
porating them,  into  their  own  dominions.  Yakub  Beg  was  at  first 
suspicious  of  the  Russians,  who  also  did  not  show  themselves  well 
inclined  toward  him.  He  sought  a  British  alliance,  and  gave  the 
British  ample  opportunity  to  cement  a  friendship  with  him,  and 
gain  an  ally  who  would  have  been  valuable  to  prevent  the  Russians 
approaching  nearer  to  them  in  one  direction.  The  British  were 
slow  in  responding  to  the  overtures  of  the  Kashgarian  prince,  and 
when,  at  last,  they  sent  Sir  Douglas  Forsyth  to  Kashgar  in  18TO, 
they  qualified  his  embassy  with  such  restrictions  that  it  had  but  little 
practical  result.  The  Russians,  in  the  meantime,  had  begun  to  feel 
their  way  into  the  good  graces  of  Yakub  Beg,  and  at  length  con- 
cluded treaties  with  him  which  gave  them  an  advantageous  position 
for  influence,  and  such  commercial  facilities  as  conferred  upon  them 
in  effect  the  monopoly  of  the  trade  of  the  country.  The  result  of 
these  maneuvers  was  irritating  to  the  English,  and  while  they  did 
not  fail  to  award  the  full  meed  of  blame  to  their  own  agents  for  the 
failure  of  their  blundering  diplomacy,  their  jealousy  and  suspicion 
of  Russia  were  increased.  The  Chinese  Government  dispatched  a 
formidable  army  to  restore  its  authority  over  the  revolted  province  ; 
the  recent  death  of  Yakub  Beg — who  was  a  Turkoman  of  rare  genius 
— deprived  the  State  of  its  chief  defense,  and  exposed  it  to  a  speedy 
occupation  by  the  Chinese  ;  but  it  is  not  yet  safe  to  say  that  Russia 
will  not  make  its  power  felt  in  the  province. 

Within  the  last  fifteen  years,  Russia  has  acquired  a  dominion  in 
Central  Asia  as  large  as  the  Austro-Hungarian  monarchy,  the  Em- 
pire of  Germany,  and  the  kingdom  of  Belgium  combined,  and  has 
found  lines  of  trade  which  extend  away  into  the  western  provinces 
of  the  Chinese  Empire,  and  almost  yo  the  borders  of  British  India 
itself.  Its  manufacturers  and  mer&nants  control  the  markets  through 
most  of  this  vast  region.  Its  goods  come  into  competition  with 
those  of  English  make  at  several  points,  and  have  crowded  them  out 
from  some.  It  is  fixing  the  settlement  of  its  new  territories,  estab- 
lishing civilization,  replacing  the  nomadic  and  predatory  occupations 
of  its  former  inhabitants  with  steady  industries  and  enlightened  en- 
terprises, and  is  preparing  the  deserts  to  become  the  seats  of  pros- 
perous States ;  but  in  doing  all  this  it  is  strengthening  itself  effectu- 


646  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

ally  at  points  where  it  might  come  in  the  way  of  its  rival.  During 
the  whole  course  of  its  conquests  in  Central  Asia,  the  Russian  Gov- 
ernment has  repeatedly  given  assurances  that  it  meant  no  aggression ; 
that  it  was  obliged  to  take  up  arms  to  protect  its  merchants  from  the 
depredations  of  the  Turkomans;  but  hardly  a  year  has  passed  with- 
out its  adding  new  soil  to  its  domains,  or  posting  its  troops  at  some 
position  in  advance.  Their  first  movements  against  the  predatory 
tribes,  on  the  Sea  of  Aral  and  the  Syr  Darya  River,  being  avowedly 
for  the  repression  of  actual  robbery  and  lawless  violence,  excited 
little  alarm,  for  they  clearly  had  a  case  in  their  favor.  The  Russians 
were  even  permitted  to  chastise  the  Khans  of  Khokand  and  Bokhara 
without  exciting  remark,  for  these  barbarous  despots  had  been  guilty 
of  acts  which  justly  called  for  vengeance.  As  they  began  to  exercise 
an  influence  in  the  internal  affairs  of  these  States,  and  to  take  steps 
which  looked  like  reducing  them  to  a  condition  of  vassalage,  inquiry 
was  awakened  as  to  their  ultimate  designs.  Prince  Gortchakoff,  in 
1864,  issued  a  dispatch  to  the  powers,  which  was  designed  to  quiet 
apprehensions,  showing  that  the  extension  of  the  Russian  territory 
had  been  made  under  the  pressure  of  imperious  necessity,  and  giving 
assurances  that  they  would  not  be  continued.  Nevertheless,  circum- 
stances pressed  to  new  annexations.  The  Khan  of  Khiva  was  re- 
duced in  1873,  only  a  small  strip  of  territory  being  left  in  his  posses- 
sion, and  the  Khan  of  Khokand  was  conquered,  and  his  whole  territory 
made  a  Russian  province  in  1876.  The  Russian  armies  exacted  the 
submission  of  the  tribes  as  far  as  the  borders  of  Kashgaria,  and  de- 
tachments of  their  troops  made  their  way  into  districts  not  far  dis- 
tant from  the  frontiers  of  Persia  and  Afghanistan. 

The  disposition  of  Afghanistan  has  a  very  important  bearing  upon 
the  security  of  British  India.  The  territory  of  that  State  is  strategi- 
cally of  great  value  both  to  the  British  and  to  their  rivals,  for 
through  it  lead  the  passes  by  which  an  army  can  be  conducted  from 
Central  Asia  to  India.  The  country  is  practically  impregnable  to  a 
hostile  force,  as  the  British  learned  to  their  cost  many  years  ago,  so 
that  whoever  possesses  it,  or  can  gain  the  friendship  of  its  rulers  and 
people,  may  have  things  in  his  own  way,  and,  in  effect,  command 
the  gates  of  India.  The  English  have  realized  this  fact  for  a  long 
time,  and  have  endeavored  to  acquire  such  a  footing  in  the  country 
as  would  make  them  safe.  First  they  tried  war,  but  when  their 
armies  had  been  nearly  annihilated  in  the  Khyber  Pass,  after  having 
achieved  some  successes  over  the  Afghans,  they  became  convinced 


ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA.  647 

that  a  forcible  conquest  was  impossible.  They  then  adopted  a  peace- 
ful policy,  concluded  a  treaty  with  the  Amir,  Dost  Mohammed,  and 
kept  him  in  good  hurnor  by  the  payment  of  subsidies  as  long  as  he 
lived.  Upon  his  death,  in  1863,  a  civil  war  for  the  succession  broke 
out  among  his  three  sons,  in  which  the  English  did  not  take  sides, 
waiting  to  see  which  would  prevail.  The  war  ended  in  1868  in 
victory  for  Shere  Ali,  the  present  Amir  of  Cabool,  and  the  English 
recognized  him,  and  granted  him  a  large  annual  pension.  Subse- 
quently, the  Amir  quarreled  with  his  son,  Yakub  Khan,  and  counted 
on  the  support  of  the  English.  He  did  not  receive  it.  A  breach 
was  made  between  him  and  the  English,  of  which  the  Russians  took 
advantage.  Their  envoy  was  publicly  received  at  Cabool  in  1876, 
and  the  British  envoy  was  treated  with  coolness.  During  1877,  the 
subject  of  declaring  a  holy  war  against  England  was  seriously  con- 
sidered in  Afghanistan. 

While  these  events  were  taking  place  in  Central  Asia  and 
Afghanistan,  negotiations  were  conducted  for  a  short  time  between 
Great  Britain  and  Russia  for  the  permanent  adjustment  of  their 
frontier  interests  and  the  prevention  of  future  conflicts,  by  fixing 
limits  beyond  which  either  power  should  not  go.  The  English  pro- 
posed to  make  a  neutral  zone  of  Afghanistan,  whose  integrity  and 
independence  both  powers  should  respect.  The  proposition  was 
favorably  received  at  St.  Petersburg,  but  when  it  came  to  perfect 
the  arrangement,  a  difficulty  was  met  in  determining  what  should 
be  regarded  as  the  exact  limits  of  the  territory  of  Afghanistan.  The 
English  could  give  no  guarantees  that  the  Afghans  would  respect 
the  Russian  domain,  and  the  Russians,  in  the  absence  of  such 
guarantees,  were  not  inclined  to  commit  themselves  to  regard 
Afghanistan  as  inviolable.  The  negotiations  have,  therefore,  been 
so  far  without  result,  but  the  hope  that  some  such  settlement  may 
be  effected,  has  not  been  given  up,  and  it  is  recognized  as  desirable 
by  both  parties. 

The  English  administration  having  failed  to  make  a  trustworthy 
ally  of  the  Amir  of  Cabool,  turned  its  attention  to  his  neighbor  on 
the  south,  the  Khan  of  Kelat,  in  Beloochistan.  Friendly  relations 
had  existed  with  this  chieftain  for  about  twenty  years,  when  they 
were  broken  off  during  the  Vice-Royalty  of  Lord  Lytton,  in  India. 
After  an  interruption  of  about  three  years,  an  effort  was  begun  in 
1876  to  restore  a  good  understanding,  which  has  resulted  in  the  con- 
clusion of  a  treaty  between  the  Indian  Government  and  Kelat, 


648  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

which,  in  return  for  the  pledge  of  support  and  the  payment  of  an 
annual  subsidy,  accords  to  the  English  a  number  of  valuable  privi- 
leges, including  the  right  to  construct  internal  improvements  in  the 
country,  to  build  forts,  and  to  occupy  prominent  points  with  troops. 
Under  this  arrangement,  a  detachment  of  troops  has  been  placed  at 
Quettah,  close  upon  the  Afghan  frontier,  and  the  place  has  been  put 
in  communication  with  the  world  by  a  telegraph  line  through  the 
Bolan  Pass. 

At  present  the  Russians  are  understood  to  have  their  eyes  fixed 
upon  Merv,  an  important  trading  post  in  South-eastern  Turkistau, 
about  equally  distant  from  the  Afghan  and  Persian  boundary-lines, 
and  an  easy  march  from  Herat,  in  Afghanistan. 

In  all  their  operations  in  these  quarters,  the  Russians  count  on  the 
friendliness  of  Persia,  at  whose  court  they  have  gained  a  predominant 
influence  at  the  expense  of  England,  and  with  which  their  Govern- 
ment has  commercial,  postal,  and  political  alliances.  Russia  is,  in 
fact,  in  a  position  to  compel  Persia  to  act  substantially  as  it  desires, 
having  already  established  itself  as  a  formidable  neighbor  along  or 
near  its  northern  frontiers,  both  east  and  west  of  the  Caspian  Sea, 
and  being  able  to  threaten  an  immediate  occupation  of  Tabriz,  its 
northern  capital,  at  any  time.  Already,  Russia  has  exercised  its  in- 
fluence in  an  important  transaction  to  the  discomfiture  of  English  in- 
terests, in  having  induced  the  Shah  to  annul  the  concessions  which 
he  had  made  to  Baron  Reuter,  of  franchises  for  building  railways  in 
his  dominions,  and  grant  the  privilege  to  another  company.  Under 
the  franchise  thus  snatched  from  England,  it  is  proposed  to  build  a 
road  which  shall  be  extended  eventually  through  Kurdistan  to  Bag- 
dad, whereby  Russia  will  gain  access,  if  the  plan  is  ever  carried  out, 
from  a  direction  whence  it  was  least  expected,  to  the  weakest  part  of 
the  Turkish  Empire,  and  will  cut  Asia  in  two  with  a  Russian  belt 
completely  separating  the  eastern  from  the  western  part  of  the  con- 
tinent. 

The  bearing  of  the  Russian  advances  on  British  interests  in  the 
East,  is  clearly  set  forth  in  Mr.  Rawlinson's  "  The  British  in  Asia," 
published  in  1875,  which  carefully  reviews  the  question  in  ah1  its 
points.  Speaking  of  the  movements  of  the  Russians  which  seemed 
to  indicate  a  purpose  to  advance  toward  Merv,  he  says  that  they  evi- 
dently mean  mischief.  "  Political  objects  of  high  import  could  alone 
justify  the  movement.  These  objects  necessarily  point  to  Herat, 
which  would  lie  at  the  mercy  of  a  European  power  holding  Merv, 


ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA.  649 

and  whence  India  would  be  seriously  threatened."  Herat,  adds  Mr. 
Rawlinson,  "  possesses  natural  advantages  of  quite  an  exceptional 
proportion.  It  is  the  frontier  town  between  Persia  and  India.  It  is 
connected  by  high-roads  with  the  capitals  of  all  the  surrounding  coun- 
tries, ....  lying  in  an  admirable  climate,  and  is  situated  in  the 
midst  of  one  of  the  most  fertile  and  populous  valleys  of  Asia.  Above 
all,  the  city  itself  is  surrounded  by  earthworks  of  the  most  colossal 
character,  dating  from  prehistoric  times,  which  might  be  improved 
and  rendered  very  strong.  Russia  in  possession  of  Herat  would  hold 
a  grip  on  India,  would  command  the  military  resources  of  Persia 
and  Afghanistan,  and  would  oblige  the  English  to  increase  their 
frontier  army  by  at  least  twenty  thousand  fresh  men."  In  another 
place  the  same  author  speaks  of  Herat  as  "  the  pivot  of  the  whole 
Eastern  Question,"  the  key  to  India.  The  importance  which  the 
British  have  attached  in  the  past  to  the  freedom  of  this  fortress-town 
is  shown  by  the  fact  that  their  Government  sent  an  expedition  to  the 
Persian  Gulf  in  1838,  in  order,  by  effecting  a  diversion,  to  compel 
the  Persians  to  raise  the  siege  of  Herat,  and  later,  when  the  Persian 
troops  occupied  the  place  in  1856,  went  to  war  with  the  Shah  to  com- 
pel their  withdrawal. 

English  writers  acknowledge  that  Russia  has  gained  advantages 
over  their  statesmen  in  negotiations,  both  with  the  Asiatics  and  with 
the  British  Government  itself,  and  blame  the  blundering  and  halting 
diplomacy  which  has  permitted  such  a  result.  Captain  Burnaby,  of 
the  British  Horse-Guards,  represents,  in  his  entertaining  book,  "  A 
Ride  to  Khiva,"  that  he  found  the  subject  talked  about  by  the  Tartars 
and  Turkomans  of  Khiva,  and  relates  a  conversation  which  he  had' 
with  the  Khan  of  Khiva,  in  which  that  chief  spoke  of  the  Russian 
advances  in  the  East,  and  seemed  to  be  a  little  surprised  that  the  En- 
glish regarded  them  with  so  much  unconcern.  "  "Well,"  said  his  High- 
ness, "  the  Russians  will  now  advance  to  Kashgar,  then  to  Bokhara 
and  Balkh,  and  so  on  to  Merv  and  Herat ;  you  will  have  to  fight 
some  day,  whether  your  Government  likes  it  or  not." 

A  writer  in  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette,  speaking  of  the  alienation  of 
the  Amir  Shere  Ali  of  Afghanistan  from  the  English  and  his  in-, 
clination  toward  the  Russians,  accounted  for  them  by  stating  that, 
it  was  well-known  that  that  prince  had  plainly  said  that  the  English, 
would  never,  under  any  circumstances,  stretch  out  a  hand  to  help, 
him  in  time  of  difficulty  ;  that,  in  spite  of  the  guns  and  money  which, 
they  had  given,  he  had  never  been  able  to  conclude  any  definite  alii- 


650  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

ance  with  them  on  which  he  could  rely.  They  had  abandoned  Khiva 
and  Bokhara,  though  "  they  had  talked  big  about  them,"  and  they 
would  leave  Yakub  Beg  of  Kashgar  to  his  fate  to  be  crushed  out  be- 
tween the  .Russians  and  the  Chinese,  although  they  had  concluded 
treaties  with  him,  and  had  dispatched  to  him  two  missions.  The 
Amir,  in  short,  in  order  to  save  himself  from  absorption  by  that 
which  he  conceived  to  be  the  stronger  of  the  two  real  powers  in 
Asia,  intended  to  make  terms  with  Russia  as  against  England. 

A.n  American  writer,  Mr.  Eugene  Schuyler,  who  has  given  careful 
attention  to  the  subject,  and  whose  book  on  "  Turkistan  "  presents 
one  of  the  fairest  and  most  complete  histories  of  the  Russian  ad- 
vances in  Central  Asia,  characterizes  the  attitude  of  England  toward 
Russia,  with  regard  to  the  points  at  issue,  as  "  hardly  a  dignified 
one."  "  There  are  constant  questions,  protests,  demands  for  expla- 
nations, and  even  threats — at  least  in  the  newspapers  and  in  Par- 
liament— but  nothing  ever  is  done."  a  It  would  seem  wiser  and 
more  dignified,"  he  adds,  "  instead  of  subjecting  the  Russian  Foreign 
Office  to  constant  petty  annoyances,  to  allow  the  Russians  plainly  to 
understand  what  limits  they  could  not  pass  in  their  onward  move- 
ment. A  state  of  mutual  suspicion  bodes  no  good  to  the  relations 
of  any  Governments."  * 

The  Eastern  relations  of  England  and  Russia  had  a  great  influence 
upon  the  policy  of  the  British  Government  and  the  attitude  of 
English  parties  during  the  war.  Questions  bearing  upon  them 
formed  the  topic  of  most  of  the  discussions  with  reference  to  the 
position  which  the  country  should  maintain  toward  the  belligerents. 
When  the  Liberals  sought  to  rivet  public  attention  upon  the  dis- 
tressed condition  of  the  Christian  populations  of  Turkey,  or  de- 
manded an  imperative  expression  of  opinion  by  the  people  and  the 
Government  against  the  atrocities  committed  by  the  Turkish  irregu- 
lar troops  upon  Christian  .non-combatants,  the  Conservatives  would 
make  no  other  answer  than  that  it  would  never  do  to  encourage 
Russia  in  a  proceeding  which  might  dismember  Turkey,  place  Con- 
stantinople in  the  hands  of  rivals,  or  interfere  with  the  communi- 
cations of  the  English  with  their  Asiatic  possessions.  The  division 
of  opinion  with  reference  to  the  question  ran  very  close  upon  the 
division  lines  of  the  parties.  The  Conservatives,  who  were  repre- 
sented by  the  majority  of  the  Ministry  and  controlled  the  Govern- 


*  Schuyler's  "Turkistan,"  ii.,  269. 


ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA.  651 

ment,  held  it  to  be  the  supreme  duty  to  checkmate  Russia.  The 
Government  maintained  an  attitude  of  watchful  observation,  aiming 
to  be  always  ready  to  interfere  whenever  any  practical  British  in- 
terest seemed  to  be  put  in  danger.  The  Liberals — of  whom  Mr. 
Gladstone  and  Lord  Hartington  were  the  most  prominent — were 
active,  without  intermission,  to  prevent  any  encouragement  being  held 
out  to  Turkey  to  continue  to  refuse  what  they  held  to  be  the  just 
demands  of  Russia  and  the  Christian  populations  for  guarantees  for 
the  permanent  improvement  of  the  condition  of  the  latter. 

In  presenting  their  views  on  the  merits  of  the  case,  the  organs  of 
the  Conservatives  represented  that  the  condition  of  the  Christian 
populations  was  only  a  pretext  under  which  Russia  concealed  the 
purpose  to  carry  on  a  war  of  aggrandizement.  They  pointed  to  the 
belief  which  prevailed,  to  a  considerable  extent,  in  other  countries 
than  England,  and  was  supported  by  some  plausible  evidence,  that 
much  of  the  prevailing  discontent  was  fictitious,  and  that  the  mani- 
festations of  it,  under  cover  of  which  the  war  was  made,  were,  in  the 
first  place,  instigated  by  Russian  intrigue,  and  afterward  kept  up 
by  the  influence  of  Russian  agents  in  Bulgaria  and  Bosnia,  and  even 
in  Servia  and  Montenegro.  Some  went  further,  and  expressed  the 
opinion  that  the  warlike  movements  had  been  encouraged,  not  only 
by  powers  in  sympathy  with  Russia,  who  expected  to  derive  ulterior 
advantages  from  it,  but  also  by  other  and  jealous  powers,  who  an- 
ticipated a  precipitation  of  general  European  questions,  in  the  settle- 
ment of  which  they  would  make  some  gain.  Therefore,  they  urged, 
England  must  aim  to  avoid  unknown  dangers  in  store. 

When  in  the  early  summer  campaigns  it  appeared  certain  that 
Russia  would  make  a  speedy  conquest  of  Armenia,  the  anti-Russian 
party  endeavored  to  excite  alarm  respecting  the  practical  advantages 
Russia  would  derive  from  its  victory.  It  would  gain,  they  said,  a 
rich  country,  with  valuable  harbors  in  the  Black  Sea,  and  a  friendly 
Christian  population,  so  situated  as  to  intercept  all  commercial  in- 
tercourse between  Turkey  and  Persia  and  Central  Asia  ;  would 
acquire  an  immense  prestige,  inasmuch  as  the  capture  and  reten- 
tion of  the  great  Turkish  strongholds  would  "be  the  occasion  of 
amazement,  consternation,  and  fear,  from  the  head-waters  of  the 
Euphrates  to  the  Red  Sea,  from  the  Mediterranean  to  the  confines 
of  China  ; "  would  cut  off  a  portion  of  English  trade  with  Asia,  bind 
Persia  in  tighter  bonds,  and  confirm  its  adverse  disposition  toward 
the  English  and  the  Turks,  render  the  construction  of  the  Euphrates 


652  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

Yalley  Railway  and  the  opening  of  a  new  and  friendly  route  to 
India  by  way  of  the  Persian  Gulf  problematical,  and  by  causing 
the  influence  of  the  English  to  wither,  would  insensibly,  but  surely 
prejudicially,  affect  all  their  relations  with  the  East.  Then,  having 
consolidated  its  Armenian  conquests,  improved  and  developed  the 
country,  it  would,  when  a  new  generation  of  soldiers  had  grown  up, 
achieve  the  comparatively  easy  conquest  of  Asia  Minor,  and  while 
it  need  not  disturb  the  Turks  at  Constantinople,  would  permanently 
cut  them  off  from  Syria  and  Arabia,  from  Persia  and  the  Tigris 
Yalley. 

This  view  of  the  future  was  alarming  enough,  and  had  the  merit 
of  novelty  at  the  time,  for  attention  had  till  now  been  principally 
directed  to  the  prospects  and  dangers  of  Russian  conquests  in 
Europe,  and  the  capture  of  Constantinople,  and  had  made  com- 
paratively little  account  of  what  was  going  on  in  Asia.  The  view 
was  supported  by  the  appearance  of  a  translation  of  a  pamphlet  by 
the  Austrian  Baron  Kuhn  Yon  Kuhnenfeld,  written  in  1858,  and 
first  published  in  1869,  which  gave  a  similar  forecast  of  the  prob- 
able progress  of  Russia.  This  author  ascribed  the  Russian  move- 
ments to  the  desire  of  securing  a  seaboard  which  would  give  to 
the  Empire  greater  facilities  than  could  be  afforded  by  a  few  Black 
Sea  ports,  or  even  by  the  possession  of  the  whole  of  an  inland  con- 
fined sea,  like  the  Black  Sea ;  in  effect,  to  secure  a  Mediterranean 
or  an  Ocean  seaboard,  or  both.  He  predicted  that  it  would  operate 
through  Asia,  where  it  would  come  into  conflict  with  Turkey,  with 
Persia,  and  in  the  end,  directly  or  indirectly  with  England.  Europe 
would  be  far  off,  not  directly  concerned,  and  would  not  be  likely  to 
interfere.  Having  moved  against  Khiva  and  Bokhara,  just  as  Rus- 
sia has  done,  it  would  annex  separate  districts  of  Armenia,  seize 
Persian  provinces,  bring  its  full  weight  to  bear  upon  the  Euphrates 
and  Tigris  districts  and  the  whole  of  Persia ;  once  in  possession  of 
Armenia,  Syria  and  Asia  Minor  would  of  necessity  fall  to  it,  and 
thus  it  would  advance  on  one  side  to  the  whole  eastern  coast  of  the 
Mediterranean,  and  on  the  other  to  the  Persian  Gulf. 

A  similar  course  of  reasoning  was  presented  by  Mr.  Layard, 
British  Minister  at  Constantinople,  in  a  dispatch  to  the  British 
Foreign  Office,  dated  May  30,  1877.  He  urged  that  whatever 
the  designs  of  Russia  might  be  as  to  the  European  provinces,  their 
execution  would  be  modified  or  prevented  by  the  opposing  in- 
terests of  Europe,  but  that  no  such  restraint  would  be  offered  against 


ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA.  653 

them  in  Asia.  Then,  after  sketching  the  probable  course  of  Russian 
conquest  through  Armenia  and  Asia  Minor,  and  the  Euphrates 
Yalley,  he  referred  to  a  suspicion  which  existed  that  Russia  had 
already  made  secrst  offers  to  Persia  to  assist  her  in  acquiring  the 
province  of  Bagdad  in  exchange  for  Ghilan  and  Mazanderan,  be- 
lieving that  it  rested  on  grounds  of  intrinsic  probability,  inasmuch 
as  the  desire  of  Persia  to  possess  the  province  of  Bagdad  and  the 
shrines  of  the  prophets  and  martyrs  was  of  very  ancient  date,  and 
was  shared  by  the  whole  Persian  people,  while  the  possession  of  the 
entire  coast  of  the  Caspian  Sea,  and  the  direct  road  through  a  rich 
and  well-inhabited  country  to  Herat  and  Afghanistan,  and  ulti- 
mately to  India,  was  a  matter  of  vast  political  importance  to  Russia. 
"  The  possession,  by  Persia,  of  the  province  of  Bagdad,"  the  dis- 
patch continued,  "  would  be,  as  far  as  England  is  concerned,  its 
possession  by  Russia.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  possession 
of  Armenia  by  Russia  as  regards  any  designs  that  she  may  have 
upon  India,  supposing  her  to  entertain  them,  would  be  very  differ- 
ent from  that  of  any  part  of  Turkistan  or  Central  Asia.  In  Ar- 
menia and  the  north  of  Persia  she  would  have  a  hardy  and  abundant 
population,  affording  her  excellent  materials  for  a  large  army,  ready 
at  any  time  to  advance  upon  our  Indian  frontier,  and  resting  upon 
a  convenient  and  sure  base  of  operations,  in  direct  communication, 
by  the  Caspian  Sea  and  by  Batum,  with  the  heart  of  the  Russian 
Empire.  The  moral  effect  of  the  conquest  of  Armenia  and  the  an- 
nexation of  Ghilan  and  Mazanderan  by  Russia  upon  our  Moham- 
medan subjects,  and  upon  the  populations  of  Central  Asia,  can  not 
be  overlooked  by  a  statesman  who  attaches  any  value  to  the  reten- 
tion of  India  as  part  of  the  British  Empire." 

When  the  collapse  of  the  first  Bulgarian  and  Armenian  cam- 
paigns revealed  the  weakness  and  inefficiency  of  the  Russian  mili- 
tary organization,  the  anti-Turkish  party  were  able  to  reply  to  these 
dismal  forebodings  that  the  idea  that  had  been  entertained  of  Rus- 
sian power  was  a  delusion.  If,  after  all  its  bluster  of  preparation, 
and  with  all  the  aids  it  had  invoked  to  its  cause,  it  had  not  been 
able  to  make  any  headway  against  an  effete  and  disorganized  nation 
like  the  Turks,  but  had  been  ignominiously  thrown  back  at  every 
point,  then  it  could  have  no  military  strength,  and  could  be  no 
match  for  a  well-organized  and  drilled  and  effectively-administered 
nation  like  England.  While  the  probability,  even  the  certainty, 
that  the  Russians  would  eventually  come  victors  out  of  the  war,  was 


654  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

admitted,  it  was  held  that  the  victory  would  not  indicate  that  Rus- 
sia was  any  stronger  than  it  now  appeared  to  be,  hut  only  that  it 
had  greater  powers  of  endurance  than  Turkey,  and  would  be  only 
the  victory  of  an  intrinsically  weak  nation  over  a  still  weaker  one. 

In  reply  to  this,  it  was  urged  that  military  success  was  not  all 
that  was  to  be  feared  from  Russia,  but  that  it  had  a  faculty  of  con- 
quering by  diplomacy.  Once  give  it  a  position  of  advantage,  it 
would  extend  its  power  by  negotiation,  if  not  by  arms,  and  as 
effectively  as  even  with  the  best  successes  of  arms.  The  Russian 
diplomatic  transactions  during  the  insurrections  in  the  European 
provinces,  and  before  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  had  been  extraor- 
dinary successes,  and  had  almost  resulted  in  the  dismemberment  of 
the  Turkish  Empire,  without  its  being  necessary  to  strike  a  blow 
directly.  Similar  results  had  attended  their  negotiations  elsewhere, 
and  the  inference  was  justified,  that  "  whenever  the  conclusion  of 
the  war  with  Turkey  leaves  them  opportunity  and  leisure,  the  Rus- 
sians will  find  no  field  so  promising  as  the  countries  between  their 
own  provinces  and  India."* 

The  Liberal  party  considered  the  subject  from  a  -very  different 
point  of  view  from  that  of  the  Conservatives.  They  regarded 
chiefly  the  duty  of  England,  as  a  Christian  State  and  the  leader  of 
civilization,  to  seek  an  amelioration  of  the  wrongs  which  the  Chris- 
tian populations  of  Turkey  were  suffering  from  their  enforced  deg- 
radation, from  misgovernment,  from  the  failure  of  the  Turkish 
promises  to  amend  their  condition,  and  from  such  recent  horrible 
incidents  as  the  atrocities  in  Bulgaria.  They  believed  that  the 
Turkish  Government  owed  its  continued  existence  in  Europe 
largely  to  British  power  and  influence,  and  that  it  leaned  upon 
England  as  a  prop  to  support  it  in  refusing  even  the  reasonable  de- 
mands of  the  powers  for  guarantees  of  reforms.  They  thought  that 
their  country  was  disgraced  by  tolerating  the  continuance  of  abuses 
for  so  long  a  time,  and  that  it  would  be  infamous  to  tolerate  them 
longer;  and  they  advocated,  not  participation  in  the  war,  but  that 
the  Government,  informing  Turkey  that  it  should  not  have  British 
support  in  any  contingency,  should  admonish  it  effectually  to  grant 
the  reforms  demanded,  with  guarantees,  and  remove  all  pretext  for 
war  and  Russian  encroachment.  They  believed  that  if  such  a  de- 
mand had  been  made  in  the  beginning,  the  Turkish  Government, 


*  Pall  Mall  Budget,  September  18, 1877. 


ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA.  655 

seeing  that  its  case  was  hopeless,  would  have  granted  it ;  whereas, 
the  British  Government,  by  its  drifting  policy,  had  allowed  the 
Turks  to  delude  themselves  with  vague  hopes  that  England  would 
sometime  interfere  for  them,  and  had  thus  encouraged  them  to  be 
obstinate,  and  was,  therefore,  indirectly  responsible  for  the  war. 
The  question  of  trade  routes  and  Eastern  Asian  relations  was  not 
insignificant,  but  should,  in  this  case,  be  subordinated  to  that  of 
duty,  which  was  paramount.  They  even  represented  that  a  correct 
settlement  of  the  latter  question  would  remove  many  of  the  diffi- 
culties in  the  way  of  the  satisfactory  adjustment  of  the  other  one. 

If  England,  they  urged,  had  firmly,  consistently,  and  honestly  sup- 
ported Russia  in  its  reasonable  demands,  it  would  have  had  influence 
to  prevent  unreasonable  ones  being  made.  It  would  have  had  a 
measure  of  control  on  all  the  subsequent  proceedings  so  long  as  it 
adhered  steadfastly  and  sincerely  to  the  right.  If,  when  Turkey 
proved  contumacious,  if  such  a  thing  could  be  supposed,  in  view  of 
the  moral  force  which  a  firm  attitude  would  have  borne,  England 
had  gone  forward  with  Russia  to  war,  or  had  held  entirely  aloof 
from  Turkey,  it  would  have  been  able  to  restrain  the  war,  to  tell 
Russia  when  its  conquests  should  stop,  and  to  have  a  potential  voice 
in  fixing  the  adjustments  to  be  made  upon  the  conclusion  of  peace. 
In  that  case  it  would  have  been  in  a  position  to  secure,  without  se- 
rious embarrassment  or  controversy,  the  advantages  it  desired,  its 
trade  routes  and  relations,  and,  most  likely,  a  permanent  adjust- 
ment of  all  rivalries  and  conflicting  relations  in  the  East.  All  of 
these  advantages  had  been  thrown  away  by  imbecility  and  halting 
diplomacy,  just  as  the  alliances  of  the  Eastern  Asiatic  Princes  had 
been  lost  by  similar  means.  The  jealousy  of  Russia  had  been 
aroused,  Turkey  was  dissatisfied,  and  the  views  of  England  would 
count  for  nothing  when  the  time  for  settlement  came. 

The  Liberals  made  less  of  the  danger  to  trade,  and  Eastern  influ- 
ence involved  in  a  Russian  occupation  of  Armenia  and  Asia  Minor, 
than  did  the  men  of  the  opposite  party.  Since  the  Suez  Canal  had 
passed  into  English  hands,  the  overland  routes  had  lost  much  of 
their  importance.  Let  them  guard  Egypt  and  the  integrity  of  this 
route,  without  reference  to  Turkey,  and  British  commerce  might 
risk  the  posression  of  the  Black  Sea  and  the  eastern  coasts  by  Rus- 
sia. On  the  last  point  they  were  not  widely  separated  from  the  Con- 
servatives, who,  foreseeing  that  the  Russian  occupation  of  Armenia 
was  probably  only  a  question  of  time,  advised  that  especial  atten- 


656  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

tion  should  be  immediately  given  toward  securing  the  interests  at 
Suez. 

The  view  entertained  by  the  British  Cabinet  of  the  manner  in 
which  English  interests  might  be  affected  by  the  policy  of  the  Rus- 
sians and  the  success  of  their  arms  as  against  Turkey,  was  indicated 
in  the  dispatch  sent  by  Earl  Derby  to  Prince  Gortchakoff  on  the  6th 
of  May,  1877,  just  after  the  beginning  of  the  war,  when  the  unob- 
structed navigation  of  the  Suez  Canal,  respect  for  the  integrity  of 
Egypt,  the  freedom  of  Constantinople  from  occupation  by  other 
than  its  present  possessors,  the  maintenance  of  the  existing  regula- 
tions concerning  the  navigation  of  the  Bosporus  and  Dardanelles, 
and  the  British  interests  in  the  Persian  Gulf,  were  mentioned  as 
points  which  the  Government  was  determined  to  defend.  The  re- 
ply of  Prince  Gortchakoff  to  the  dispatch,  while  it  disclaimed  any 
intention  on  the  part  of  Russia  at  striking  immediately  at  any 
of  the  interests  named  by  Earl  Derby,  was  so  hedged  about  with 
conditions  and  reservations,  that  it  gave  no  real  assurance  that  in 
the  course  of  the  war  some  excuse  would  not  be  found  for  putting 
some  of  these  objects  in  peril. 

Six  months  after  Earl  Derby's  note  was  written,  at  the  Lord 
Mayor's  banquet  in  London,  November  9th,  Earl  Beaconsfield,  the 
Premier,  repeated  the  points  which  the  Foreign  Secretary  had  stated, 
in  almost  the  same  words.  Her  Majesty's  Government,  he  said,  had 
declared  their  policy  at  the  outset  of  the  war.  It  was  not  a  policy 
framed  for  the  occasion,  and  merely  because  war  had  been  declared, 
but  was  one  which  had  been  deeply  considered,  it  was  unanimously 
adopted,  and  had  been  unanimously  maintained.  It  was  the  policy 
of  conditioned  neutrality,  of  a  neutrality  which  must  cease  if  British 
interests  were  menaced.  The  Premier  combatted  the  idea  that  Tur- 
key was  an  effete  State,  not  able  to  be  independent,  which  was  con- 
tradicted, he  said,  by  the  bravery  and  achievements  of  the  half 
million  of  warriors  it  had  put  into  the  field. 

The  Liberal  statesmen  gave  free  expression  to  their  views  on 
erery  suitable  occasion.  The  words  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  particular, 
were  remarkably  strong,  whether  in  his  public  speeches  or  in  the 
articles  which  he  gave  to  the  public  through  the  Press.  Speaking 
in  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  14th  of  May,  he  said  that  the  war 
might  even  now  be  ended  within  a  fortnight  if  England  would  con- 
sent to  restore  the  European  concert,  and  pointed  out  what  a  dis- 
grace it  would  be  to  England  if  the  liberty  of  the  Christians  were 


ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA.  657 

secured  by  an  agreement  between  Turkey  and  Russia  alone.  Speak- 
ing to  the  Exeter  Liberal  Association  on  the  13th  of  July,  he 
lamented  that  England  had  not  been  the  means  of  avoiding  the  war, 
as  it  might  have  been,  if  it  had  promoted  the  concert  of  Europe  in- 
stead of  checking  it,  if  it  had  contemplated  vigorous  action  instead 
of  idle  words.  He  had  no  doubt  that  if  the  Government  had  twelve 
months,  or  even  nine  or  six  months  before  declared  to  Turkey  that 
Europe  was  in  earnest  and  must  not  be  trifled  with,  the  Christians 
would  have  been  relieved  "  by  a  process  perfectly  safe  and  effectual," 
and  peace  would  have  been  preserved.  He  was  very  sorry  to  say 
that  there  were  many  indications  "of  a  disposition  to  raise  vain 
alarms  about  British  interests,  which  are  in  no  danger  at  all.  Let 
us,"  he  said,  "  on  the  other  hand,  preach  the  doctrine  of  British  du- 
ties. Let  us  recollect  what  was  the  undimmed  brilliancy  of  British 
honor ;  let  us  remember  that  this  question  of  the  East  is  not  for  us 
a  new  question ;  that  it  is  through  us  that  Turkey  now  enjoys  the 
power  she  has  been  so  grievously  and  scandalously  misusing,  that  it 
is  our  duty  to  endeavor  to  redress  the  mischief  that  we  may  uncon- 
sciously have  done." 

Mr.  John  Bright,  in  a  speech  at  Bradford  on  the  25th  of  July^ 
said  that  England  was  utterly  alone  in  Europe  with  respect  to  the 
closing  of  the  Bosporus  and  to  any  question  of  danger  as  con- 
nected with  the  closing  of  the  Suez  Canal.  Among  other  nations 
the  English  demands  were  felt  to  be  unreasonable  and  arrogant,  and 
he  confessed  that  he  sometimes  felt  that  the  English  were  in  danger 
of  a  European  combination  against  them,  and  that  they  would  find 
themselves  "  not  triumphant,  but  baffled." 

Lord  Hartington,  the  recognized  Parliamentary  leader  of  the 
Liberals,  speaking  at  Glasgow,  Scotland,  on  the  6th  of  November, 
said  that  to  see  in  the  Eastern  Question  nothing  whatever  except  the 
question  of  the  security  of  the  route  to  India,  was  a  totally  one-sided 
and  totally  inadequate  view  of  the  case,  because  it  altogether  set 
aside  what  was,  after  all,  of  the  greatest  interest  to  England  in  the 
matter,  the  preservation  of  peace.  The  Government  had  boasted 
that  the  policy  which  they  were  pursuing  was  a  selfish  policy.  He 
was  not  going  to  say  that  a  selfish  policy  was  necessarily  a  wrong 
one  for  a  British  Minister  to  pursue,  but  he  would  maintain  that  if 
a  Govern  merit  pursued  a  selfish  policy,  it  ought  to  be  not  only  selfish, 
but  intelligent.  A  policy  which  looked  entirely  to  British  interests, 
omitting  all  consideration  of  the  interest  of  other  States,  was  not 


658  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

intelligent ;  because,  however  naturally  English  people  might  take 
this  view,  it  was  impossible  to  expect  it  would  be  taken  by  other 
nations. 

Lord  Northbrook,  a  former  Yiceroy  of  India,  made  a  decided 
speech  at  Winchester  on  the  9th  of  November,  in  which  he  utterly 
condemned  the  idea  that  Russia  could  be  dangerous  to  the  British 
dominion  in  India.  It  had  fallen  to  his  lot,  he  said,  in  1853,  when 
the  English  were  at  war  with  Russia,  to  be  one  of  those  who  were 
directed  to  inquire  whether  Russia  could  affect  the  British  in  India, 
or  they  could  injure  Russia  in  Central  Asia.  They  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  idea  of  a  Russian  attack  on  India  was  "  perfectly 
futile."  The  danger  was  "  a  mere  bugbear."  If  this  was  true  in 
1853,  it  was  much  more  true  now,  for  the  British  were  much 
stronger  in  India  than  in  1853,  the  European  army  having  been 
tripled,  and  the  triangular  railway  completed.  The  extension  of 
Russia  in  Central  Asia,  he  said,  was  a  natural  process,  like  their  own 
extension  in  India,  and  was  attended  on  the  whole  with  benefit,  a 
point  which  was  illustrated  by  the  suppression,  under  Russian 
pressure,  of  the  atrocious  slave  trade  carried  on  by  the  Turkoman 
tribes.  These  remarks  had  the  more  force,  since  the  policy  which 
Lord  Northbrook  had  pursued  as  Yiceroy  in  India,  as  well  as  that 
which  Lord  Lawrence,  another  very  successful  Yiceroy,  had  fol- 
lowed, had  been  in  accordance  with  the  views  expressed  in  them. 

Mr.  Forster  gave  a  novel  view  of  the  case,  and  one  wholly  con- 
tradictory of  the  fears  which  the  Conservatives  had  urged  that 
news  of  Russian  victories  would  rouse  all  the  East  against  British 
rule,  when  he  pointed  out  in  his  speech  at  Bristol  in  November,  that 
the  defeat  of  Europe  in  Asia  by  a  Mohammedan  power  would  be  at 
least  as  threatening  to  British  rule  in  Asia  as  the  occupation  of 
Erzerum  by  Russia. 

These  views,  so  firmly  and  ably  expressed  by  men  for  whom  all 
Englishmen  had  a  sincere  respect,  had  an  assuring  effect  upon  the 
minds  of  the  people  at  large,  and  were  reflected  in  a  modified  tone 
of  the  more  thoughtful  Conservative  speakers,  and  in  the  appear- 
ance of  articles  calculated  to  assuage  apprehension  in  journals 
whose  affiliations  would  have  justified  the  expectations  of  declara- 
tions from  them  of  the  most  alarming  character. 

The  Saturday  Review^  a  journal  which  speaks  to  the  more  cul- 
tivated class  of  English  Conservatives,  and  is  read  by  all  the  world, 
in  its  issue  of  the  10th  of  November,  when  the  Russian  conquest  of 


ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA.  659 

/ 

Armenia  had  become  a  foregone  conclusion,  brought  forward  sev- 
eral considerations  as  tending  to  show  that  the  result  would  not  be 
as  injurious  to  British  interests  as  had  been  apprehended.  It  said  : 
"  With  the  exception  of  Batum,  all  Eastern  Armenia  is  virtually 
in  the  possession  of  the  conquerors,  and  the  acquisition  may  be  per- 
manently retained  if  it  is  thought  advisable.  None  of  the  Conti- 
nental Powers  have  any  motive  for  objecting  to  trie  extension  of 
Russian  dominion  in  Asia,  and  the  alarm  which  has  been  expressed 
by  some  English  writers  is  not  a  little  fanciful.  The  possession  of 
the  upper  valley  of  a  river  offers  no  especial  facilities  for  the 
acquisition  of  the  territory  further  down.  If  the  Russians  hereafter 
wish  to  conquer  Bagdad,  or  the  plains  between  the  Euphr%tes  and 
the  Tigris,  it  will  matter  little  whether  their  base  of  operations  is 
Alexandropol  or  Kars.  It  is  not  altogether  desirable  that  Russia 
should  occupy  the  nearest  land  passage  to  India,  but  no  practicable 
route  exists  at  present  through  the  Valley  of  the  Euphrates ;  and,  in 
other  respects,  there  is  as  little  strategic  connection  between  Ar- 
menia and  India  as  between  the  Pyrenees  and  Poland.  English- 
men may,  for  the  present,  regard  with  equanimity  a  Russian  annex- 
ation, which  they  are  in  any  case  powerless  to  prevent." 

A  parallel  view,  from  a  stand-point  outside  of  England,  was  given 
in  the  Allgemeine  Zeitung,  one  of  the  leading  papers  of  Germany, 
of  the  25th  of  October.  It  showed  that  English  interests  in  Ar- 
menia were  really  very  insignificant ;  that  the  preponderance  of 
their  interests  in  South-eastern  Turkey  lay  in  the  extreme  corner 
of  the  Empire,  as  at  Bagdad  and  Bozra,  and  a  few  other  points 
around  the  Persian  Gulf  and  along  the  Persian  frontier  ;  and  that 
no  English  statesman  had  ever  shown,  or  could  show,  what  was  the 
connection  between  these  points  and  Armenia  or  any  of  the  neg- 
lected Black  Sea  ports,  for  no  such  connection  existed.  Moreover, 
British  interests  had,  within  ten  years,  been  drawn  toward  the  line 
between  the  Nile  and  the  Syro-Pho3nician  coasts  and  the  Persian 
Gulf,  while  those  of  Russia  were  identical  with  the  ancient  trade- 
routes  from  the  Black  Sea  through  Armenia  to  Northern  Persia. 
These  two  lines  run  parallel  only  in  theory.  Between  them  lay 
the  whole  Turkish  Empire,  and  all  the  differences  in  productions, 
wants,  material  and  spiritual  conditions  of  the  North  and  the  South. 
The  danger  to  English  interests  in  Armenia  was  mostly  imaginary, 
for  the  English  had  no  important  interests  there.  They  had  no 
trade  through  Erzerum  or  Armenia  to  India.  Of  the  three  hundred 
36 


660  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

steamers  which  entered  the  port  of  Trebizond  annually,  one-third 
were  Russian  and  only  five  bore  the  English  flag ;  and  of  the  one 
thousand  vessels  which  called  at  three  other  ports  on  the  same  coast, 
only  seven  were  English.  In  fact,  England  had  had  no  relations 
with  this  region  for  ten  years. 

Even  some  of  the  Conservative  statesmen,  and  men  who  had  rela- 
tions with  the  Government,  took  occasion  sometimes  to  speak,  dep- 
recating agitation.  Sir  Stafford  Northcote,  on  the  24th  of  January, 
1877,  said,  at  a  Conservative  meeting,  that  the  Government  had  no 
unworthy  jealousy  of  Russia,  and  to  say  that  they  had  ever  abstained 
frcm  anything  that  they  thought  would  be  useful  and  right,  because 
of  such  a  feeling,  was  distinctly  false,  and  great  harm  had  been 
done  by  the  propagation  of  the  idea  that  they  were  guided  by  it. 

The  Marquis  of  Salisbury,  Secretary  of  State  for  India,  who  was 
the  special  representative  of  the  British  Government  at  the  Confer- 
ence of  the  powers  at  Constantinople,  in  December,  1876,  at  a  ban- 
quet held  on  the  llth  of  June,  made  light  of  the  fears  that  the  Rus- 
sian advance  would  involve  danger  to  India,  and  set  out  against 
them  the  picture  of  a  friend  of  his,  who,  he  assumed,  lived  at  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  that  the  same  advances  were  a  serious  menace 
to  South  Africa. 

Earl  Derby  was  visited  on  the  28th  of  November,  1 877,  by  a  deputa- 
tion of  three  societies,  seeking  active  interference  in  favor  of  Turkey. 
He  replied  that  he  could  not,  for  his  own  part,  think  that  the  true 
line  of  communication  between  England  and  India  lay  through  the 
Euphrates  Valley.  He  believed  that,  so  long  as  they  had  the  Suez 
Canal  uninterrupted  and  unimpeded,  they  had  a  communication 
sufficient  for  all  purposes.  Some  one  having  suggested  that  the 
Suez  Canal  would  be  endangered  if  the  Russians  should  get  Trebi- 
zond, he  answered  that  that  was  difficult  of  proof,  and  he  should 
have  to  suspend  his  judgment  upon  the  point.  He  thought  there 
was  no  immediate  danger  of  the  Afghans  being  joined,  in  case  of  a 
revolt,  by  the  Mohammedan  population  of  India.  No  such  co-oper- 
ation had  been  given  in  the  war  of  twenty-five  years  ago,  and  he 
thought  it  would  not  be  given  now. 

As  the  year  drew  to  a  close,  a  plain  division  appeared  in  the  Cab- 
inet, Earl  Beaconsfield  leading  the  party  which  favored  the  assump- 
tion of  a  hostile  attitude  toward  Russia,  and  Earl  Derby  and  those 
who  agreed  with  him  advocating  a  continued  neutrality  and  the 
preservation  of  peace.  This  division  grew  more  marked  as  the  cer- 


ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA.  66 1 

tainty  of  the  Russian  triumph  became  more  apparent ;  it  continued 
to  widen  as  the  discussions  over  the  attitude  which  the  Government 
should  pursue,  in  view  of  the  behavior  of  Russia  with  reference  to 
the  questions  involved  in  its  treaty  of  peace  with  Turkey,  grew 
more  animated,  and  resulted  in  the  resignation  of  Earl  Derby  as 
Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs  on  the  28th  of  March,  1878. 

The  danger  of  collision  between  England  arid  Russia  is  remote 
and  contingent,  and  could  be  easily  avoided  if  the  two  nations  would 
put  aside  their  jealousy.  Those  Englishmen  who  entertain  a  mor- 
bid fear  of  a  conflict  mistake  a  possibility  for  a  probability,  and  are 
contributing  more  than  any  other  cause  by  their  passionate  expres- 
sions to  increase  the  danger  of  it  arising.  The  two  nations  have  no 
occasion  to  contend  in  Asia.  Each  has  more  territory  than  it  desires, 
and  feels  burdened  by  the  extent  and  responsibility  of  its  dominions ; 
and  each  has  work  enough  to  employ  it  a  century  in  developing  the 
resources  and  assimilating  the  peoples  of  its  acquisitions.  Both 
States  affirm,  with  truth,  that  they  have  been  driven  to  successive 
conquests  by  the  necessity  of  preserving  peace  on  their  borders,  and 
of  protecting  vested  interests ;  and  it  follows,  that  when  they  shall 
have  extended  their  dominions  so  as  to  join,  they  will  have  no  oc- 
casion to  quarrel ;  for  they  will  have  assured  the  preservation  of 
peace  and  the  protection  of  vested  interests  throughout  the  con- 
tinent. 

The  occupation  of  the  whole  of  Central  Asia  by  Great  Britain 
and  Russia  would  be  of  vast  benefit  to  the  countries  immediately 
concerned,  and  would  constitute  a  strong  impulse  to  civilization. 
Good  has  followed  every  conquest  that  either  country  has  made  in 
these  regions.  British  rule  has  been  a  great  blessing  to  India.  It 
has  brought  that  vast  and  populous  country  into  the  family  of  civil- 
ized nations ;  has  delivered  its  inhabitants  from  a  host  of  petty 
tyrannies ;  has  freed  them  from  the  slavery  of  brutal  customs  and 
degrading  superstitions,  furnishing  them  instead  the  opportunity  to 
improve  their  manhood ;  has  developed  the  resources  of  the  country, 
filling  it  with  railroads  and  all  modern  inventions ;  has  stimulated 
enterprise  and  built  up  commerce,  and  infused  life  and  promoted 
growth  where  everything  was  still  and  in  decay.  It  is  just,  though 
Severe,  and  Hindoos  and  Mohammedans  acknowledge  its  excellence, 
while  they  complain  of  it  as  a  foreign  domination.  Every  neigh- 
boring State  to  which  it  is  extended  feels  an  immediate  benefit 
from  it,  and  the  adjoining  barbarous  principalities  which  have  not 


662  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

yet  received  it  are  taught  by  what  they  can  observe  of  its  fruits, 
that  there  are  desirable  gifts  in  the  way  of  law  and  arts  which  they 
have  not  reached.  The  world  has  also  learned  much  that  is  valuable 
from  India,  for  which  it  is  indebted  largely  to  British  agency  in 
making  accessible  the  treasuries  of  knowledge  which  the  Empire 
contains. 

In  a  similar  manner  Russia,  however  much  we  may  deprecate  the 
application  of  its  despotic  theories  of  government  to  civilized 
European  States,  has  conferred  incalculable  good  on  the  barbarous 
hordes  of  Central  Asia  by  subjugating  them.  It  has  substituted 
law  and  order  where  arbitrary  caprice,  violence,  and  robbery  pre- 
vailed. For  the  first  time  in  their  history,  the  Turkomans  know 
what  it  is  to  be  governed  under  an  established  system,  with  fixed 
rules,  based  upon  principles  which  regard  the  rights  of  persons  and 
property.  Profitable  industries  and  a  settled  life  are  being  intro- 
duced into  districts  which  were  formerly  ravaged  every  year  by  pred- 
atory nomads.  Colonies  are  being  planted  to  till  the  waste  places 
and  make  the  desert  fruitful.  Railroads  and  telegraphs  are  built ; 
plans  are  on  foot  for  restoring  the  rivers  and  canals  for  irrigation, 
and  measures  are  contemplated  which  have  in  view  the  conversion 
of  lands  which  only  anarchy  has  made  barren  into  productive  coun- 
tries. The  fact  appears  through  all  the  works  of  the  few  persons 
who  have  visited  Turkistan,  that  the  Turkomans,  while  they  profess 
to  hate  the  Russians,  appreciate  the  better  order  and  the  promise  of 
future  prosperity  which  they  have  given  them. 

The  destinies  of  Asia  seem  to  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  these 
two  powers.  While  they  both  have  so  much  that  they  can  accomplish 
for  the  good  of  mankind  and  their  own  glory  in  their  own  especial 
fields  it  would  be  criminal  for  them  to  quarrel.  While  the  field  of 
action  is  so  large  for  each,  there  is  no  need  that  they  should  quarrel. 
Those  men  are  the  wisest  and  the  nearest  to  the  truth  who  point  out 
that  there  is  no  real  occasion  for  collision  between  them.  If  their 
statesmen  shall  be  able  to  agree  upon  a  line  of  division  which  shall 
limit  the  inarch  pi  the  one  to  the  East,  of  the  other  to  the  West, 
and  then  go  to  work  in  good  faith,  each  to  build  up  their  own  Em- 
pire, peace  would  be  assured,  civilization  extended,  and  the  world  at 
large  as  well  as  the  people  of  Asia  would  receive  incalculable  benefit. 
The  best  statesmen  of  Russia  and  England  look  to  this  as  the  end 
of  all  their  negotiations  and  suspicions.  No  good  reason  exists  why 
it  should  not  be  reached  very  soon. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   NATIONALITY   PRINCIPLE   AND   THE  FINAL   ISSUE   OF   THE  EASTERN 

QUESTION. 

The  End  of  the  War  brings  New  Complications — New  Conflicting  Interests — How  shall 
they  be  Settled  ? — The  Influences  which  Control  the  Adjustment  of  State  Lines — 
Dynastic  Considerations — The  Principle  of  Nationalities — Its  History — Italian  and 
German  Unity — The  Nationality  Principle  in  Austria — Its  Application  to  European 
Turkey— Indications  that  it  will  gain  Strength— It  affords  the  Best  Guide  to  a  Final 
Adjustment. 

THE  ending  of  the  war  has  not  brought  a  settlement  of  the  Eastern 
Question,  but  has  only  caused  it  to  be  presented  in  a  new  aspect, 
hardly  less  formidable  than  those  with  which  the  world  has  hitherto 
been  bewildered.  The  arrangements  of  the  Treaty  of  San  Stefano 
are  only  a  first  step  in  a  road  which  promises  to  be  full  of  difficulties 
and  complications,  to  engage  the  attention  of  the  peoples  and  powers 
of  Europe,  and  involve  them  in  future  misunderstandings,  and  per- 
haps wars.  The  Turks  have  at  last  been  so  nearly  driven  out  of 
Europe,  that  it  has  become  evident  to  all  that  their  final  expulsion  is 
only  a  question  of  time,  and  their  Empire,  which  only  four  hundred 
years  ago  was  'the  terror  of  the  civilized  world,  has  been  put  back  to 
a  position  of  inferiority  and  doomed  to  a  certain  gradual  extinction. 
New  States  have  been  set  up  to  take  a  part  of  its  place  in  Europe, 
and  the  candidates  are  claiming  the  rest  of  the  portion  to  be  divided 
out  in  a  few  years  if  not  now.  This,  which  has  been  accomplished, 
although  it  is  much,  is  only  the  beginning  of  the  trouble.  To  ex- 
tend the  use  of  that  which  has  been  a  favorite  figure  among  the  Eu- 
ropean diplomatists,  the  sick  man  is  dead ;  next  begins  the  quarrel- 
ling over  his  will. 

We  have  described  in  the  previous  chapters  the  most  important  of 
the  conflicting  interests  and  jealousies  which  impede  the  permanent 
settlement  of  the  affairs  of  the  Balkan  peninsula.  They  are  partly 
intrinsic  and  essential,  but  some  of  them  are  of  outside  origin,  and 

their  relation  to  Turkey  is  only  one  of  their  incidents.     This,  how- 

(663) 


664  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST- 

ever,  does  not  prevent  their  being  very  formidable  subjects  for  con- 
sideration. The  intrinsic  and  essential  interests  concern  the  welfare 
and  relations  of  the  Christian  peoples  of  European  Turkey.  The 
four  different  nationalities  to  whom  the  Balkan  peninsula  seems 
chiefly  to  belong,  rub  against  each  other  at  several  points,  and  are  so 
mixed  at  their  boundaries  that  it  is  hard  to  tell,  for  some  distance, 
on  either  side  of  the  line,  where  one  begins  and  the  other  ends.  The 
Bulgarians  and  the  Servians  overlap  each  other  through  a  consider- 
able district,  so  that  in  the  adjustment  of  their  respective  territories, 
which  has  been  made  by  the  Treaty  of  San  Stefano,  either  nation  is 
aggrieved  that  a  part  of  the  territory  which  it  believes  should  be 
given  to  it,  is  allotted  to  the  other.  The  Russians,  moreover,  have 
provided  so  liberally  for  Bulgaria,  as  to  have  given  it  considerable 
possessions  along  the  sea-coast  which  were  regarded  as  more  properly 
belonging  to  the  Greeks.  These  difficulties,  however,  which  are  of 
not  uncommon  occurrence  among  peoples  which  occupy  adjoining 
territories,  would  be  simple  and  comparatively  easy  of  settlement, 
were  they  not  complicated  by  the  outside  difficulties  which  engage 
the  attention  of  the  nations  who  are  to  decide  upon  the  adjustment 
to  a  much  larger  degree  than  the  wishes  of  the  provinces.  Prominent 
among  these  are  the  jealousy  and  fear  of  Russia,  which  have  been 
aggravated  by  the  easy  disposition  it  has  made  of  Turkey,  and  by  the 
determination  it  has  manifested  to  go  on  in  its  own  course  regardless 
of  the  .protests  of  its  neighbors.  Russia  is  regarded,  particularly  by 
Austria,  as  the  embodiment  of  Panslavism,  and  Panslavism  is  looked 
upon  as  a  greedy  monster,  which  is  going  to  swallow  everything  that 
is  Slavic,  and  a  good  deal  that  is  not  Slavic,  if  only  a  trifle  of  Slavic 
is  mixed  with  it,  and  whose  progress  is  sure  to  produce  other  Eastern 
complications  indefinitely.  As  it  is  threatened  on  one  side  by  Rus- 
sia and  Panslavism,  so  Austria  is  threatened  on  the  other  side  by  the 
progress  of  two  of  the  new  States — Rumania,  whose  peoples  are 
affiliated  with  those  of  its  provinces  of  Bukowina  and  Transylvania, 
and  Servia,  whose  people  and  its  own  south  Slavs  have  long  dreamed 
of  union  and  independence  together.  The  contest  between  England 
and  Russia  for  dominion  in  the  East,  if  it  comes  to  blows,  is  likely  to 
be  one  of  portentous  magnitude  and  of  indefinite  duration.  Both  pow- 
ers are  too  large  and  their  interests  are  too  extensive,  for  either  to 
yield  without  an  exhausting  struggle.  The  particular  point  on  which 
the  attention  of  these  two  nations  is  now  centered — Constantinople 
— has  been  the  pivot  upon  which  all  the  Eastern  troubles  have,  till 


THE  NA  TIONALITY  PRINCIPLE.  665 

very  recently,  hinged ;  it  is  too  important  a  point  to  be  trusted  in  the 
hands  of  any  strong  power.  It  has  been  left  with  Turkey  because 
Turkey  being  weak  could  do  no  harm  with  it,  and  leaving  it  there 
saved  the  trouble  of  providing  a  new  disposition  for  it.  Europe  will 
not  quietly  see  England  and  Russia  disposing  of  Constantinople  alone ; 
and  the  war,  or  the  negotiations,  for  its  control  can  hardly  fail  to  in- 
volve the  whole  world,  and  lead  to  incalculable  perplexities.  Thus 
the  final  issue  is  uncertain,  and  as  far  from  settlement  as  ever.  It, 
in  fact,  admits  of  no  lasting  settlement,  unless  some  just,  equitable, 
and  impartial  basis  can  be  found  on  which  all  nations  can  be  forced 
to  agree,  as  a  principle,  by  a  reference  to  which  all  the  points  shall 
be  decided. 

The  history  of  the  nineteenth  century  gives  some  valuable  in- 
struction respecting  the  character  and  strength  of  the  agencies 
which  are  likely  to  be  chiefly  instrumental  in  shaping  the  future  of 
the  Eastern  complication,  and  furnishes  also  a  clue  to  the  principle 
to  which  the  ultimate  settlement  will  have  to  conform.  The  cen- 
tury has  been  marked  by  the  predominance  of  two  great  and  often 
opposing  influences  operating  to  control  the  boundaries  and  rela- 
tions of  States,  one  of  which,  although  it  seemed  all-powerful  during 
the  first  years  of  the  century,  has  had  to  yield  to  the  other  wherever 
the  two  have  come  in  conflict,  and  seems  now  to  be  gradually  being 
supplanted  by  the  other.  The'  first  of  these  influences  is  that  of 
dynastic  considerations,  under  the  weight  of  which  the  great  powers 
combined  to  adjust  and  preserve  a  balance  of  control  on  the  con- 
tinent in  such  a  manner  as  it  was  thought  would  secure  their  own 
strength  and  growth,  regardless  of  the  interests  of  the  smaller  States 
and  of  all  other  considerations,  and  would  protect  them  against  real 
or  fancied  dangers  which  might  arise  from  the  increase  of  any  of 
them  singly,  from  the  rise  of  new  States,  or  from  new  combinations 
of  other  States.  The  dynastic  considerations  have  so  far,  as  we 
ha\re  seen  in  the  preceding  chapters,  been  the  commanding  in- 
fluences which  have  prevented  the  solution  of  the  Eastern  Question, 
and  under  which  Turkey  has  been  upheld  as  a  power  so  long  after 
it  had  lost  its  capacity  to  maintain  a  real  self-existence.  Under  the 
influence  of  these  considerations,  Europe  was  parceled  out,  by  the 
treaties  of  1815,  among  a  certain  number  of  ruling  families,  in  total 
disregard  of  natural  boundary  lines  or  of  the  rights  of  the  people, 
in  such  a  manner  that  of  a  few  selected  dynasties  none  should  be 
strong  enough  to  become  a  terror  to  any  of  the  others.  Thus,  it 


666  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

was  imagined,  the  occurrence  of  new  disturbances  among  the  States 
and  the  rise  of  new  complications  could  be  postponed  for  an  in- 
definite period. 

This  arrangement,  which  the  diplomats  of  the  Great  Powers  of 
the  time  thought  was  to  be  their  lasting  monument,  has  been 
thoroughly  destroyed  within  the  last  thirty  years,  by  the  operation 
of  various  causes,  the  chief  of  which  is  the  second  influence  we  have 
mentioned — that  of  the  principle  of  nationalities.  This  principle 
impels  the  dismembered  portions  of  peoples  having  the  same  origin 
and  speaking  the  same  language,  who  have  had  at  some  time  a 
common  history,  and  have  certain  interests  in  common,  to  seek  each 
other  out,  affiliate  with  each  other,  and  form  a  political  union  un  der 
a  central  government.  Under  its  operation,  the  map  of  Europe 
has  undergone  important  changes  since  the  revolutions  of  1848,  in 
connection  with  which  its  first  marked  manifestations  were  made. 
It  is  still  a  living  force,  and  is  destined  to  produce  still  further 
changes  in  the  relations  of  States.  It  has  been  successfully  applied 
to  the  reorganization  of  two  of  the  most  important  countries  of 
Europe — Italy  and  Germany.  Italy  was  disorganized  by  the  over- 
throw of  the  Roman  Empire,  and  had  been  broken  into  a  number 
of  weak  commonwealths  ever  since.  The  contentions  of  its  rival 
States  and  factions  had  become  a  European  scandal.  Its  people 
were  despised,  and  were  accredited  with  all  the  vices,  and  hardly 
any  of  the  virtues.  It  was  reparceled  by  the  Treaty  of  Vienna 
into  a  number  of  petty  States,  some  of  which  were  contemptible  in 
dimensions,  and  placed  under  the  control  of  as  many  sovereigns, 
most  of  whom  were  also  contemptible,  and  despots  besides,  and 
were  branches  and  tools  of  the  house  of  Austria.  Besides  the  Pope, 
only  one  of  all  the  princes  which  were  provided  for  it  was  an  Italian. 
This  was  the  king  of  Sardinia.  The  contrast  of  the  Italy  of  1848 
with  the  peninsula  which  had  shone  with  the  glories  of  ancient 
Rome  was  terrible ;  and  the  idea  that  the  country  could  be  regen- 
erated was  regarded  as  impossible,  and  the  aspirations  of  the  people 
for  national  unity,  which  then  began  to  be  heard,  were  considered 
fit  subjects  for  ridicule.  The  sneer,  "  Italy  is  a  geographical  ex- 
pression," was  often  repeated,  in  a  tons  indicating  that  the  coun- 
try could  never  hope  to  be  again  anything  else.  The  revolutionary 
efforts  of  1848  gave  voice  to  a  call  of  the  people  for  Italian  unity. 
The  call  was  echoed  by  the  one  Italian  prince  of  the  peninsula,  the 
king  of  Sardinia,  and  was  supported  by  the  arm  and  enthusiasm  of 


THE  NATIONALITY  PRINCIPLE.  667 

Garibaldi,  and  the  sagacious  counsel  of  Cavour.  Each  worked  in  his 
own  way  for  the  realization  of  the  idea,  and  with  equal  effect, 
Garibaldi  inspiring  the  people,  the  king  extending  the  welcome 
protection  of  the  State  over  them,  the  minister  devising  constitu- 
tional provisions.  The  Austrians  were  driven  from  most  of  Lom- 
bardy  in  1859  ;  four  States  of  the  center  entered  the  Union  in  1860. 
Garibaldi  won  Sicily  in  the  same  year ;  Yenice  and  Yerona  were 
gained  from  Austria  in  1866,  and  the  last  remaining  part  of  the 
peninsula  was  recovered,  and  Yictor  Emmanuel  was  proclaimed 
King  of  all  Italy  at  its  eternal  capital  in  18TO.  Under  the  opera- 
tion of  the  principle  of  nationality,  this  country,  which  was  hope- 
lessly divided,  despised,  and  a  reproach,  within  the  memory  of 
young  men  has  become  a  compact  nation,  enjoying  popular  self- 
government,  and  is  now  one  of  the  freest  and  most  progressive  States 
of  civilization,  and  one  of  the  acknowledged  Great  Powers  of 
Europe. 

The  German  Empire  had  ceased  to  be  a  solid  State  two  hundred 
years  ago.  Under  the  increase  of  Prussia,  and  the  growing  rivalry 
between  that  kingdom  and  Austria,  the  nation  suffered  from  divis- 
ions and  lost  in  strength.  During  the  wars  of  Napoleon,  the  name 
of  the  Empire  disappeared.  It  was  succeeded  by  the  German  Con- 
federation, then  by  the  Zollverein  (or  Customs  Union),  neither  of 
which  had  any  strong  bond  of  connection,  or  were  able  to  make  the 
German  name  felt  abroad  as  it  had  been  felt  during  the  whole  of 
the  middle  ages.  Germany  was  so  happy  as  to  escape  the  deca- 
dence of  Italy,  for  its  people  always  preserved  their  intellectual 
eminence,  and  never  let  go  the  traditions  of  their  fatherland,  but  it 
was  wholly  without  influence.  Austria  and  Prussia  were  known  as 
bitter  rivals,  whose  conflicts  always  defeated  national  aspirations ; 
besides  these  powers,  were  numerous  smaller  States,  some  of  which 
were  very  insignificant,  and  all  of  which,  despite  their  wealth  and 
high  civilization,  counted  for  nothing  in  the  world's  politics.  Ar 
effort  was  made,  during  the  revolutions  of  1848,  to  bring  the  thirty- 
nine  States  into  a  closer  union,  but  it  was  defeated  by  an  adverse 
combination  of  circumstances,  partly  of  home,  partly  of  foreign  ori- 
gin. The  national  principle,  however,  was  strong,  and  would  pre- 
vail over  all  obstacles.  It  was  first  manifested  effectively  in  the 
war  which  resulted  in  incorporating  the  German  provinces  of  Den- 
mark with  the  Confederation,  in  1864.  Then  Austria  and  Prussia 
quarreled  in  1866,  and  the  war  which  ensued  resulted  in  the  exclu- 


668  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

sion  of  Austria,  and  the  establishment  of  Prussia  as  the  leading 
State  of  Germany.  Prussia  united  the  Northern  States  with  itself 
into  the  North  German  Confederation,  and  began  the  building  up 
of  a  solid  Germany.  The  war  with  France  led  to  the  adhesion  of 
the  Southern  States  to  this  confederation,  and  the  restoration  of  the 
German  name  to  a  position  of  influence.  King  "William,  the  vic- 
torious, was  crowned  at  the  capital  of  France  Emperor  of  Germany, 
on  the  18th  of  January,  18T1,  and  the  new  Empire  at  once  assumed 
the  acknowledged  position  of  the  first  power  in  actual  strength  and 
influence  on  the  earth.  The  annexation  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine  to 
Germany,  which  was  one  of  the  incidents  of  this  great  event,  is  an- 
other triumph  of  the  nationality  principle,  inasmuch  as  it  was  the 
restoration  to  their  normal  national  relations  of  two  German  prov- 
inces which  had  long  been  held  by  France. 

Besides  Italy  and  Germany,  the  two  European  countries  which 
have  been  most  conspicuously  agitated  by  the  question  of  nationali- 
ties are  Austria  and  Turkey.  Nearly  all  the  troubles  which  Aus- 
tria suffers,  and  has  suffered  since  1848,  may  be  ascribed  to  the 
working  of  this  question.  It  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  Hungarian 
Revolution  in  1848.  The  Magyars  sought  the  recognition  of  their 
nationah'ty,  and  its  elevation  to  influence  in  Hungary.  They  were 
opposed  by  the  Slavs,  who  wished  to  be  recognized  in  the  same  dis- 
tricts, and  by  the  Germans,  who  were  not  then  willing  to  divide 
their  power.  The  Compromise  of  1867  was  a  recognition  of  the 
national  claims  of  the  Magyars,  and  gave  peace  to  the  nation  on 
that  quarter.  It,  however,  did  not  satisfy  the  Slavs,  but  rather 
increased  their  urgency  for  recognition,  to  which  the  Government 
yielded  by  making  partial  concessions  to  the  Croats.  Besides  these 
nationalities,  the  Czechs,  the  Poles,  the  Servians,  the  Lithuanians, 
and  the  Rumanians,  all  form  distinct  and  sometimes  opposing  com- 
munities, whose  appetite  for  recognition  has  been  whetted  by  what 
has  been  done  for  their  neighbors.  As  Austria  has  already  lost  its 
Italian  provinces  and  its  influence  in  Germany,  by  the  agitation  of 
this  question,  so  it  is  likely  to  lose  other  of  its  populations,  unless  it 
can  devise  some  means  of  satisfying  them  all  without  loosing  them 
from  the  State — a  problem  which  may  fitly  tax  the  resources  of  the 
ablest  minds  and  the  most  fertile  in  expedients. 

Of  the  aspirations  of  the  four  nationalities  in  Turkey,  those  of 
one — the  Bulgarians — have  been  the  .most  fully  met.  They  have, 
in  fact,  got  more  than  they  had  reason  to  expect.  The  fact  can  not 


THE  NATIONALITY  PRINCIPLE.  669 

fail,  however,  to  excite  the  desires  of  the  others  to  the  highest  pitch, 
one  of  which,  the  Greek,  has  as  jet  obtained  nothing,  but  sees  a 
part  of  what  it  claimed  gi?en  to  its  rival,  the  Bulgarians.  The 
Greeks,  and  the  Servians  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  are  still  dis- 
satisfied, and — the  Greeks,  at  least — will  never  give  up  the  struggle 
till  they  have  gained  what  they  are  convinced,  now  more  firmly 
than  ever,  is  their  right. 

The  more  education  advances  among  these  struggling  nationalities, 
the  more  will  the  masses  begin  to  participate  actively  in  their  efforts 
for  the  realization  of  their  national  hopes.  Those  who  have  the 
management  of  educational  affairs,  will  take  care,  as  the  regenerators 
of  Bulgaria  have  done,  and  as  the  Greeks  are  doing,  that  the  instruc- 
tion given  is  national  in  spirit  and  influence.  The  literature  of  all 
the  nationalities,  which  already,  even  in  the  present  condition  of 
general  ignorance,  forms  a  strong  bond  between  them,  is  thoroughly 
impregnated  with  the  national  aspirations,  and  will  strengthen  the 
movement  for  national  autonomy  just  in  proportion  as  the  masses 
of  the  people  are  able  to  read  and  digest  it.  As  Homer  was  the 
bond  of  the  ancient  Greeks,  as  German  literature  has  been  a  tower 
of  strength  in  cementing  the  unity  of  the  German  race,  as  Dante  in 
the  middle  ages  planted,  and  Manzoni  and  Gioberti  in  modern  times 
revived  and  stimulated  the  Italian  sentiment  for  unity,  and  as  liter- 
ature has  proved  a  powerful  weapon  with  the  Panslavists,  so  are  the 
poets  and  story-tellers  of  Rumania  and  Servia  and  Bulgaria  and 
Modern  Greece — and  they  are  not  few — cultivating  and  diffusing 
and  strengthening  similar  sentiments  among  the  people  to  whom 
they  speak.  Thus  the  cohesive  force  of  these  nationalities  is  con- 
stantly tending  to  become  stronger ;  and  how  tenacious  a  nationality 
can  be,  under  the  most  adverse  circumstances,  is  exemplified  in  the 
case  of  the  Poles,  upon  whom  even  the  alluring  temptations  of  Pan- 
slavism  have  as  yet  exerted  no  influence. 

None  of  the  nationalities  of  Turkey  or  Austria  can  furnish  the 
constituents  for  a  new  Empire  on  the  basis  of  nationality  equal  to  a 
united  Italy  or  a  united  Germany.  None  of  them  has  a  population 
to  compare  with  that  of  Italy  or  of  Germany.  The  Poles  num- 
ber about  11,000,000;  the  Eumanians,  8,000,000;  the  Servians, 
7,500,000  ;  the  Czechs,  7,000,000  ;  the  Bulgarians,  5,000,000  ;  while 
Italy  has  a  population  of  26,800,000  and  Germany  one  of  42,727,000. 
Those  nationalities  which  are  destined  to  see  their  aspirations  fulfilled 
will  owe  their  deliverance  or  extension,  like  Bulgaria,  to  the  pro- 


670  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

tection  or  co-operation  of  one  of  the  larger  powers,  acting  more  for 
selfish  interests  than  for  the  fulfillment  of  any  abstract  principle. 
But  as  the  popular  sympathy  of  the  Italians  with  the  Government 
of  Sardinia  aided  in  the  foundation  of  the  Kingdom  of  Italy ;  as 
Prussia  needed  the  co-operation  of  the  movement  for  nationality 
among  the  Germans  for  the  establishment  of  the  German  Empire ; 
and  as  the  national  aspirations  of  the  Christian  populations  of 
European  Turkey  have  played  a  prominent  part  in  the  overthrow 
of  Turkish  rule  in  Europe — so  the  aspirations  of  the  nationalities, 
which  still  remain  dismembered  for  union  and  restoration,  may  be 
expected  to  form  an  important  factor  in  the  transformation  of  South- 
eastern Europe  ;  that  is  to  say,  in  the  solution  of  the  Eastern  Ques- 
tions, which  are  hereafter  to  be  brought  to  the  surface. 

In  view  of  the  great  uncertainty  which  even  the  leading  states- 
men of  Europe  feel  with  regard  to  the  future  of  the  Eastern  Ques- 
tion, and  in  view  of  the  constant  shifting  of  the  aspect  of  affairs 
and  arising  of  new  complications,  it  would  be  foolish,  as  well  as  use- 
less, to  risk  any  definite  prediction  as  to  the  final  solution  of  the 
problem.  It  is,  however,  safe  to  predict  that  the  course  of  the  ques- 
tion will  always  be  influenced  by  the  workings  of  the  principle  of 
nationality,  combined  with  dynastic  considerations,  chiefly  of  Rus- 
sia, Austria,  and  England.  Russia  and  the  Panslavists  will  continue 
to  press  for  a  solution  in  the  interest  of  the  Slavic  nations  and  Rus- 
sian preponderance  ;  Austria,  while  it  can  not  long  ignore  the  rights 
of  its  Slavs  and  possibly  of  its  Rumanians,  will  seek  to  postpone  a 
solution,  or  to  make  such  a  compromise  of  its  interests,  as  it  has  done 
in  the  case  of  the  Magyars  and  Croats,  as  will  cause  the  least  possible 
disturbance  to  the  integrity  and  quiet  of  its  own  dominions ;  while 
England  may  find  it  the  best  policy,  in  order  to  keep  or  wrest  Con- 
stantinople from  the  Russians  and  make  it  as  nearly  neutral  as  be- 
tween the  Great  Powers  as  possible,  to  take  up  the  cause  of  the 
Greeks  and  secure  for  them  what  remains  of  Southern  European 
Turkey.  A  permanent  solution  can  not  be  hoped  for  until  the 
rights  of  all  the  nationalities  are  fully  acknowledged  and  as  fairly 
adjusted  as  the  complex  circumstances  of  the  case  will  permit. 

The  principle  of  nationalities  is  the  one  which  gives,  in  the  organ- 
ization of  States,  the  fullest  gratification  to  the  desires  and  aspira- 
tions of  the  people,  and  the  freest  development  to  their  growth  and 
opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  their  energies.  Its  application  in- 
flicts no  fundamental  wrongs  upon  the  people,  for  it  unites  those 


THE  NA  TIONALITY  PRINCIPLE.  67 1 

who  have  the  most  reason  to  wish  to  be  united,  and  who  are  most 
readily  attached  to  each  other,  and  separates  them  from  those  who 
are  alien  to  them  in  origin  and  sympathies.  Under  its  operation,  the 
spectacle  can  no  longer  be  presented  of  a  large  people  united  in  po- 
litical association  with  those  they  permanently  hate,  or  of  a  race  pos- 
sessing manly  capacity  crushed  and  oppressed  by  another  of  less  or 
only  equal  civilization,  under  whose  rule  it  has  been  forced,  and 
which  governs  it  only  to  drain  its  vital  forces  for  the  increase  of  its 
own  strength.  It  will  damage  only  the  artificial  constructions  of 
States  which  have  been  formed  in  disregard  of  it,  and  whose  con- 
tinued existence  as  despotisms  over  subject  provinces  is  a  reproach 
to  liberty  and  a  barrier  to  the  progress  of  civilization ;  and  will  dis- 
commode only  those  dynasties  of  rulers  who,  imagining  that  man- 
kind were  made  for  the  emolument  and  glorification  of  their  houses, 
have  partitioned  the  earth  to  suit  their  own  convenience  and  ambitions. 

The  arrangement  of  States  according  to  the  principle  of  nation- 
alities can  not  be,  nor  is  it  likely  to  be,  hastily  done.  The  applica- 
tion of  the  principle  presupposes  a  condition  of  civilization  and  in- 
telligence on  the  part  of  the  people  who  are  to  enjoy  the  benefit  of  it, 
sufficient  to  enable  them  to  manage  their  own  affairs  so  that  they  shall 
become  useful  factors  in  civilization,  and  their  possession  of  strength 
enough  to  maintain  their  national  existence  under  all  ordinary  contin- 
gencies. A  people  who  from  any  cause  are  intrinsically  weak,  must 
make  terms  with  some  more  vigorous  power,  and  abide  under  its 
protection.  One  which  persists  in  keeping  in  the  way  of  advance- 
ment, or  remains  inert  and  degraded,  must  expect  to  remain  subor- 
dinate, and  submit  to  the  influence  of  whatever  State  takes  it  in 
hand,  till  it  proves  its  capacity  to  maintain  itself ;  and  it  need  not 
expect  to  emerge  from  that  condition  until  it  asserts  itself  and  forces 
the  recognition  of  its  unity  and  independence,  as  the  Italians  and 
Germans  have  done,  and  the  Christian  peoples  of  Turkey  are  doing. 

The  tendency  in  all  the  European  States  is  for  the  people  to  lay  more 
stress  upon  the  principle  of  nationality,  and  for  Governments  to  pay 
more  deference  to  it.  The  process  which  has  been  so  conspicuously 
manifested  in  a  few  of  the  States,  is  going  on  in  many  of  the  others, 
perhaps  unconsciously,  where  it  is  hardly  suspected.  Every  year  wit- 
nesses new  concessions  to  popular  rights  which  involve  some  features 
of  this  principle.  It  is  intimately  associated  with  the  doctrine  of 
popular  self-government,  and  with  the  American  doctrine  of  local 
sovereignty. 


6/2  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

The  future  changes  in  the  arrangement  of  the  States  of  Europe 
may  be  expected  to  be  made  in  conformity  with  this  principle,  as  it 
is  extended  and  becomes  more  generally  acknowledged.  They  are 
not  likely  to  be  all  violent,  or  be  made  more  frequently,  or  on  a 
larger  scale,  than  they  are  now ;  possibly,  their  operation  will  be 
slower  than  the  operation  of  such  changes  has  been  for  a  thousand 
years  in  the  past.  For  as  the  world  becomes  more  civilized,  and 
constitutional  governments  become  more  free,  people  become  better 
contented  with  their  lot,  and  less  anxious  to  agitate  for  changes 
which  are  even  reasonable.  Even  this  situation,  however,  implies  a 
recognition  of  the  principle  of  nationality,  for  the  operation  of  con- 
stitutional freedom  is  to  give  it  scope  within  the  State  instead  of 
compelling  it  to  seek  a  field  for  its  exercise  without.  The  changes 
that  are  made,  therefore,  while  they  may  be  fewer,  instead  of  being 
made  to  carry  out  the  selfish  aims  of  kings,  will  be  made  in  obedience 
to  the  affiliations  and  tendencies  of  the  people,  and  will  be,  in  the 
most  civilized  States,  more  voluntary  and  less  violent. 

Thus,  by  a  slow  process  of  natural  separation  and  reunion,  based 
upon  the  recognition  of  national  affiliations  and  the  "  government  of 
the  people  by  the  people  for  the  people,"  resulting  in  the  adjustment 
of  the  boundaries  of  States  by  natural  lines,  a  new  balance  of  power 
will  be  gradually  built  up,  destined  to  be  as  strong  and  lasting  as 
that  which  the  Congress  of  Vienna  sought  to  establish  was  weak 
and  transient.  Each  State  having  found  its  own  proper  limits  and 
sphere  of  growth  as  determined  by  community  of  origin,  language, 
and  interests,  will  conform  to  them,  will  find  its  legitimate  and 
most  satisfactory  field  for  the  exercise  of  its  energies  within  its  own 
territory,  its  most  prolific  springs  of  power  and  renown  in  the  build- 
ing up  of  its  own  resources.  No  State  will  have  reason  to  fear 
aggression  from  its  neighbor,  for  all  will  be  alike  busy  within  them- 
selves ;  and  a  rivalry  among  the  nations  in  industry,  in  the  culture 
of  the  arts  and  refinements  of  civilization,  and  in  promoting  the 
happiness  and  comfort  of  their  own  people  will  take  the  place  of  the 
ceaseless  conflicts  of  dynasties  which  have  too  long  interrupted  the 
progress  of  mankind. 


CHAPTER  YIIL 

COMPLICATIONS   ARISING  AT   THE   CLOSE    OF   THE   WAR. 

Leaning  of  the  Turks  toward  the  Russians — Austrian  Note  to  Russia  on  the  Treaty  of 
Peace — British  Objections  to  the  Treaty — The  British  Fleet  passes  into  the  Sea  of 
Marmora — Austria  Issues  an  Invitation  for  an  International  Conference — Prince  Bis- 
marck's Declaration  in  the  German  Parliament — Russia's  Opposition  to  the  Confer- 
ence— England  Demands  the  Submission  of  the  entire  Treaty — Threatened  Rupture 
between  Russia  and  England — Ignatieff  Visits  Vienna — British  Circular  to  the  Powers 
— The  British  Reserves  Called  Out — Intimate  Relations  of  the  Russians  and  Turks. 

THE  slow  progress  of  the  negotiations  between  the  Russians  and 
Turks  was  watched  from  the  beginning  with  concern  by  all  the 
powers,  and  with  an  anxiety  which  amounted  to  little  less  than 
alarm  by  Austria  and  England.  It  was  evident  that  Russia  had 
Turkey  completely  at  its  mercy.  The  Russian  armies  continued  to 
advance,  apparently  irresistibly  and  without  meeting  even  a  show 
of  resistance,  notwithstanding  it  was  understood  that  hostilities  were 
suspended,  and  conferences  had  taken  the  place  of  battles.  Every 
day  they  were  coming  nearer  to  Constantinople,  and  approaching 
positions  whence  they  could  command  the  navigation  of  the  Straits. 
The  danger  seemed  gradually  to  rise  before  the  eyes  of  the  watchers, 
and  finally  appeared  imminent  that  Russia,  in  spite  of  the  Treaty  of 
Paris  and  its  own  promises  often  repeated,  would  seize  Constanti- 
nople and  the  Straits,  and  dispose  of  the  whole  of  European  Turkey 
and  its  people,  before  any  one  could  prevent  it,  and  without  con- 
sulting the  views  or  interests  of  the  two  powers  which  imagined 
themselves  immediately  concerned.  The  delay  which  took  place  in 
the  negotiations  after  they  were  begun  was  unaccountable,  and  be- 
came an  object  of  suspicion,  all  the  more  because  of  the  continued 
progress  of  the  Russians.  The  British  and  Austrian  Governments 
took  the  earliest  opportunity  to  intimate  to  the  Russian  Govern- 
ment and  the  Porte  that  they  would  not  recognize  conditions  of 
peace  in  contravention  of  the  terms  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris  in  which 
Europe  did  not  participate.  The  Russians  answered  with  assuring 
words,  that  all  points  in  the  treaty  which  were  of  European  concern 

(673) 


674  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EA  ST- 

would  be  submitted  to  a  review  of  the  powers,  and  continued  to 
treat  and  to  occupy  points  nearer  to  Constantinople.  The  Turks 
seemed  to  have  no  longer  any  will  of  their  own,  but  to  have  thrown 
themselves  entirely  into  the  arms  of  the  Russians.  Crushed  on 
every  battle-field,  having  seen  the  British  Government  witness  their 
utter  defeat  without  moving  a  step  in  their  favor,  they  seemed  to 
have  undergone  one  of  those  revulsions  of  feeling  which  often  attend 
extreme  disappointment,  and  turned  the  cold  shoulder  upon  the  old 
friends  who  they  fancied  had  deserted  them,  to  make  friends  of 
their  former  enemies — and  the  probability  of  a  Russo-Turkish 
alliance  against  England  began  to  be  talked  of.  The  excitement 
was  intensified  by  the  rumors  which  were  circulated  concerning  the 
points  of  the  treaty  which  were  under  discussion.  Some  of  them 
were  so  represented  as  to  seem  to  touch  European  interests  very 
sharply.  The  mystery  which  shrouded  the  negotiations  all  through 
January  added  to  the  force  of  these  rumors. 

On  the  30th  of  January,  the  Austrian  Ambassador  at  St.  Peters- 
burg delivered  a  note  to  Prince  Gortchakoff,  embodying  a  declaration 
on  behalf  of  the  Austro-PIungarian  Government,  that  it  in  no  way 
disputed  Turkey's  right  to  conclude  treaties  in  its  own  interest,  but 
must  consider  the  arrangements  then  under  consideration,  so  far  as 
they  might  modify  the  present  treaty  or  touch  Austrian  interests, 
as  not  falling  within  the  right  of  Turkey  until  new  arrangements 
had  been  made  with  the  signatory  powers  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris. 
At  about  the  same  time  it  was  stated  that  Count  Andrassy  had  taken 
steps  with  the  object  of  bringing  about  a  joint  action  of  Europe  to 
prevent  a  prejudicial  policy  on  the  part  of  Russia,  and  that  Austria- 
Hungary  would  take  the  initiative  in  assembling  a  European  Con- 
ference to  discuss  and  determine  all  the  points  affecting  the  common 
interests  of  Europe.  It  was  also  said  that  the  differences  that  had 
arisen  between  Austria  and  Russia  were  of  so  serious  a  character  that 
the  German  Emperor  had  been  obliged  to  interpose  in  person,  and 
entreat  his  two  brother  Emperors  not  to  break  up  the  Tri-Iinperial 
Alliance.  The  Austrian  objections  to  the  treaty  were  unofficially 
stated  in  a  telegram  from  Vienna,  February  4th,  to  be,  in  substance, 
that  the  Russian  conditions  were  rather  calculated  to  sow  seeds  of 
fresh  troubles  than  promote  a  real  and  lasting  peace.  They  destroyed 
Ottoman  power  in  Europe  without  substituting  anything  in  its  place 
possessing  guarantees  of  stability.  The  smaller  States  would  receive 
just  enough  to  make  them  wish  for  more,  while  Bulgaria,  the  largest 


COMPLICATIONS  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  WAR.        675 

of  them  in  extent  and  population,  would  become  little  more  than  a 
Russian  dependency.  Restoration  to  the  Czar  of  Bessarabia,  with- 
out due  equivalent  to  Rumania,  would  make  Russia  mistress  of  the 
mouths  of  the  Danube.  Thus,  in  the  very  preliminaries  themselves 
there  was  much  that  must  lead  to  discussion  between  Austria  and 
Russia ;  and  the  same  must  be  the  case,  though  perhaps  to  a  lesser 
degree,  with  the  other  powers.  Rumania  had  announced  its  claim 
to  take  part  as  a  belligerent  in  the  conclusion  of  peace ;  the  Servians 
were  disappointed  with  the  rectification  of  the  frontier  allowed  them 
by  the  Russian  preliminaries,  and  insisted  upon  the  possession  of 
Old  Servia  down  to  the  Lorn ;  and  the  Greeks  had  committed  an 
act  of  war.  "  Thus  the  Eastern  Question  had  been  raised  to  its  full 
extent." 

Sir  Stafford  Northcote,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  had 
made  a  statement  of  the  British  objections  in  the  House  of  Commons 
on  the  28th  of  January.  The  terms,  as  they  had  been  reported, 
were  very  sweeping.  The  character  of  the  autonomy  for  Bulgaria  was 
not  that  agreed  upon  by  the  Constantinople  Conference.  Adminis- 
trative autonomy  was  then  conceded ;  now,  there  was  provided  total 
separation  from  Turkey,  under  a  Prince.  Under  the  Russian  plan, 
the  southern  boundary  of  Bulgaria  would  be  brought  almost  to  the 
seas,  and  if  the  Prince  for  the  new  State  was  to  be  chosen  by  the 
Czar,  as  was  reported  with  some  appearance  of  authority,  a  power- 
ful State  would  be  established  in  the  very  heart  of  Turkey,  with  a 
Prince  devoted  to  Russian  interests.  Regarding  tributaries  becom- 
ing independent  he  would  say  nothing,  but  it  must  raise  difficult 
questions,  since  it  touched  other  interests.  The  indemnity  condi- 
tion was  very  elastic.  How  Russia  might  elect  to  take  the  indemnity 
and  what  territory  she  might  ask  were  highly  important  to  Europe. 
European  concert  was,  therefore,  necessary.  The  understanding  re- 
garding the  Straits  might  mean  something  or  nothing,  but  it  was  a 
European — an  English — interest.  The  conditions  were  matters  upon 
which  no  separate  understanding  between  the  belligerents  could  be 
acknowledged  by  the  powers.  "  We  can  not  disguise  the  vast  im- 
portance of  the  question  now  raised ;  the  keystone  of  South-eastern 
Europe  is  being  removed." 

On  the  8th  of  February  it  was  announced  in  the  British  Parlia- 
ment, that  a  part  of  the  English  fleet  had  been  ordered  to  proceed 
to  the  Turkish  capital  for  the  protection  of  British  residents  there. 
The  Russian  Government  answered  this  by  sending  notifications  to 
37 


6;6 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 


all  the  powers  that  in  consideration  of  what  the  British  Government 
had  done,  and  of  a  similar  course  which  it  was  said  the  other  powers 
were  adopting  in  the  premises,  it  would  be  obliged,  on  its  side,  "to 
take  into  consideration  the  proper  means  of  protecting  those  Chris- 
tians whose  life  and  property  might  be  threatened,  and  in  order  to 
attain  this  result,  to  contemplate  the  entry  of  a  portion  of  our  troops 
into  Constantinople."  The  Porte,  however,  refused  to  permit  the 
English  fleet  to  approach  Constantinople,  and  the  Russians  had  no 
excuse  for  occupying  the  city  at  that  time. 

On  the  3d  of  February,  the  Austrian  Cabinet  issued  formal  invita- 
tions to  the  Governments  of  the  signatory  powers  of  the  Treaty  of 
Paris,  to  send  representatives  to  a  conference  to  be  held  at  Vienna. 
The  invitation  was  accepted  by  all  the  powers.  Russia  objected  to 
the  Congress  being  held  at  a  large  capital,  and  presented  a  definition 
of  the  task  of  the  Conference,  reserving  some  very  important  ques- 
tions for  the  decision  of  Russia  and  Turkey,  to  the  exclusion  of  the 
signatory  powers,  among  which  were  the  reorganization  of  Bulgaria, 
the  occupation  of  that  country  by  Russian  troops,  and  the  re-annex- 
ation of  Southern  Bessarabia. 

This  effort  to  limit  the  functions  of  the  Conference,  together  with 
the  appearance  that  the  Russians  would  find  some  pretext  for  enter- 
ing Constantinople,  threw  a  cloud  for  a  time  upon  the  prospects  of 
the  Conference,  and  the  Austrian  Cabinet  began  to  consider  the  sub- 
ject of  mobilizing  its  army.  A  rupture  between  Austria  and  Russia 
and  an  alliance  of  the  former  power  with  England  seemed  probable, 
when  Prince  Bismarck  performed  the  office  of  mediator,  and  inti- 
mated to  Prince  Gortchakoff,  in  the  name  of  the  German  Govern- 
ment, that  Russia  must  not  strain  the  situation  beyond  reasonable 
bounds. 

Prince  Bismarck  made  a  speech  in  the  German  Parliament  on 
the  19th  of  February,  in  which  he  defined  the  policy  of  the  Imperial 
Government.  The  interests  of  Germany  were  not  affected  by  the 
preliminaries  of  peace  in  such  a  manner  as  to  oblige  it  to  deviate 
from  its  previous  attitude.  The  apprehensions  respecting  the  Dar- 
danelles were  not  justified  by  the  actual  situation.  He  did  not  be- 
lieve in  a  European  war,  as  the  powers  which  opposed  Russia 
would  have  to  assume  the  responsibility  of  the  legacy  left  by  Tur- 
key. A  Russian  official  communication  made  it  certain  that  the 
chief  interest  of  Germany,  namely,  the  freedom  of  the  water-ways, 
as  the  Straits  of  the  Dardanelles,  for  commerce,  would  be  maintained. 


COMPLICATIONS  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  WAR.        6/7 

He  believed  it  was  Russia's  interest  to  come  to  an  understanding,  and 
not  have  the  fear  of  complications  with  Austria  or  England  con- 
stantly impending.  He  denounced  the  idea  of  Germany  engaging 
in  a  war  with  reference  to  the  Eastern  Question,  declaring  that 
nothing  should  induce  him  to  hazard  a  rupture  with  any  power  re- 
specting questions  in  which  Germany  had  no  direct  interest,  and  re- 
jected, emphatically,  all  suggestions  that  Germany  should  intervene, 
declaring  that  it  was  willing  honorably  to  mediate,  but  did  not  wish 
to  exercise  the  office  of  arbiter  of  Europe.  Germany  was  on  the 
most  friendly  terms  with  Russia  and  Austria,  and  had  not  a  single 
interest,  except  friendly  rivalry  in  trade,  antagonistic  to  England. 

Russia  having  objected  to  the  meeting  of  the  Conference  in 
Yienna,  Baden-Baden  was  selected  as  the  place  of  meeting.  It 
was  afterward  understood,  however,  that  it  would  meet  in  Berlin. 

The  question  arose  during  the  negotiations  whether  the  meeting 
should  take  the  form  of  a  conference  of  the  representative  members 
of  the  Cabinets  of  the  several  powers,  or  of  a  Congress  of  Plenipo- 
tentaries  appointed  especially  to  attend  it.  Questions  arose  respect- 
ing the  admission  of  the  smaller  powers — Rumania,  Servia,  and 
Greece — to  the  Conference.  Rumania  sought  to  be  represented  in 
order  to  protest  against  the  retrocession  of  its  Bessarabian  territory 
to  Russia,  Servia  to  press  its  claims  for  Old  Servia  which  the  treaty 
gave  to  Bulgaria,  Greece  because  it  felt  neglected  by  having  had 
no  provision  made  for  it,  and  wronged  by  the  inclusion  of  Greek 
communities  in  the  new  principality  of  Bulgaria.  It  was  suggested 
that  the  vassal  States  should  have  the  privilege  of  sending  delegates 
to  represent  their  interests,  without  having  a  voice  in  the  ultimate 
decision. 

Formidable  differences  arose  concerning  the  scope  of  the  Confer- 
ence. Russia  desired  to  have  submitted  to  it  only  those  points  of 
the  treaty  which  were  manifestly  of  European  concern.  Great 
Britain  insisted  that  the  whole  of  the  treaty  should  be  submitted, 
without  reservation.  Russia  professed  not  to  dispute  the  right  of 
the  Conference  to  decide  what  clauses  of  the  treaty  involved  Euro- 
pean interests,  but  declined  to  concede  a,  priori  its  right  to  pass 
upon  all  the  points. 

France  expressed  a  wish  that  the  Conference,  or  Congress,  be 
confined  in  its  deliberations  to  the  Eastern  Question,  fearing  that 
otherwise  it  might  claim  the  right  to  sanction  all  recent  territorial 
changes.  It  also  desired  to  have  all  questions  concerning  the  holy 


678  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

places  excluded,  as  introducing  a  needless  complication  and  touch- 
ing Syria,  which  France  expected  to  have  offered  it  some  day  in 
compensation  for  England's  occupation  of  Egypt. 

Italy  avowed  its  intention  to  preserve  its  neutrality  on  the  East- 
ern Question,  but  to  exert  to  the  utmost  its  influence  in  the  Confer- 
ence to  oppose  Russian  preponderance  in  Europe,  by  seeking  to  ex- 
tend the  Hellenic  Kingdom  and  constituting  other  Christian  nation- 
alities. 

The  demand  of  England  for  the  submission  of  the  whole  agree- 
ment between  Russia  and  Turkey  was  based  partly  on  the  appre- 
hension that  special  and  secret  arrangements  had  been  entered  into 
independent  of  the  principal  treaty,  and  it  would  be  useless  to  ex- 
amine the  latter  except  under  a  guarantee  that  it  contained  all  that 
had  been  done.  Russia,  while  denying  that  any  secret  engagement 
existed,  avoided  giving  a  direct  answer  to  the  British  demand,  but 
replied  that  an  obligation  to  submit  all  the  clauses  of  the  treaty  was 
quite  unnecessary,  as  the  whole  treaty  would  be  known  before  the 
Conference  met,  and  the  plenipotentiaries  could  discuss  which 
clauses  should  be  submitted  for  consideration.  The  English  ob- 
jected to  this,  that,  by  its  adoption,  the  previous  question  would  be 
raised  on  every  clause  of  the  treaty,  except  those  which  Russia 
brought  forward  of  its  own  accord.  The  difference  between  the 
two  Governments  was  apparently  one  of  words  and  diplomatic  pres- 
tige, rather  than  of  essentials,  but  their  experiences  of  Russian  diplo- 
macy had  taught  the  English  that,  with  those  experts  in  the  use 
of  terms  of  double  significance,  the  most  trifling  terms  of  expression 
may  involve  great  distinctions  of  hidden  meaning. 

While  the  attempt  was  making  to  settle  these  questions,  the  time 
of  the  meeting  of  the  Conference  was  put  off  from  the  early  part  of 
March  till  the  last  of  that  month,  then  till  the  middle  of  April. 

As  the  differences  between  England  and  Russia  became  more 
and  more  evident,  the  Russians  directed  their  efforts  to  making 
terms  with  Austria.  Notwithstanding  the  opposition  of  the  Hun- 
garians to  having  anything  to  do  with  the  Slavs  of  Turkey,  the 
Austrian  Government  had  been  led  to  look  favorably  upon  the 
occupation  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  as  an  offset  to  the  extension 
of  Russian  influence  in  Bulgaria,  and  had  been  encouraged  by  Rus- 
sia in  the  idea  of  such  occupation.  The  Austrian  Government  had 
also  applied  to  the  Chambers  for  a  credit  of  six  millions  florins, 
similar  to  the  credit  which  the  English  Government  had  obtained 


COMPLICATIONS  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  WAR.        679 

from  Parliament.  General  Ignatieff  was  dispatched  by  the  Russian 
Government  to  Yienna  toward  the  end  of  March,  in  an  effort  to 
remove  the  Austrian  opposition  to  the  schemes  of  the  Czar.  This 
done,  England  would  be  isolated,  and  Russia  could  venture  to  defy 
it.  The  negotiations  failed  to  secure  the  desired  result.  Count 
Andrassy  informed  General  Ignatieff  that  the  whole  tendency  of 
the  treaty  was  in  opposition  to  the  interests  of  Europe,  and  that  no 
lasting  peace  could  be  concluded  without  the  sanction  of  all  the 
powers.  General  Ignatieff  rejoined  that  Russia  had  altogether 
abandoned  the  idea  of  a  congress  in  consequence  of  the  difficulties 
raised  by  England.  He  urged  Count  Andrassy  to  state  Austria's 
demand.  The  C.ount  declined,  as  he  still  hoped  for  a  congress,  but 
declared  that  if  he  had  to  consider  the  treaty  solely  from  an  Austrian 
point  of  view,  he  would  demand  far  greater  concessions  than  if  he 
had  to  consider  it  in  relation  to  the  general  interests  of  Europe. 
Having  received  this  decided  rebuff,  General  Ignatieff  returned  to 
St.  Petersburg,  and  the  Russian  organs  stated  that  his  object  had 
been  to  ascertain  just  how  Austria  felt,  and  that  having  accom- 
plished this,  the  purpose  of  his  mission  had  been  gained. 

It  was  afterward  stated  that  the  Austrian  views  were  regarded  as 
so  exorbitant  by  the  Russians  that  the  Chancellory,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent an  offensive  alliance  between  Austria  and  England,  was  about 
to  make  another  attempt  to  come  to  terms  with  England. 

The  Servian  Government,  on  the  last  day  of  March,  ordered  the 
immediate  remobilization  of  the  whole  of  its  forces. 

The  English  Government,  having  decided  to  call  out  the  reserves, 
Earl  Derby  offered  his  resignation  as  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign 
Affairs  on  the  28th  of  March,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Marquis 
of  Salisbury. 

The  correspondence  between  the  British  and  Russian  Govern- 
ments concerning  the  Conference  was  published  on  the  30th  of 
March.  From  it,  it  appeared  that  Austria  was  the  only  Government 
which  had  expressed  an  opinion  about  England's  demand  for  the 
submission  of  all  the  articles  of  the  treaty  to  the  Conference.  It 
thought  the  reservation  of  full  liberty  of  action  by  the  powers  a 
sufficient  guarantee,  and  that  it  was  not  to  the  interest  of  England 
or  Austria  to  raise  difficulties  on  this  point.  Prince  Gortchakoff 
had  said  to  Lord  Loftus,  in  a  conversation  at  St.  Petersburg,  that  if 
the  Congress  made  any  modifications  in  the  treaty  they  would  be 
subject  to  further  arrangements  between  Russia  and  Turkey. 


680  THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

The  British  Government  issued  a  circular  to  the  powers,  which 
was  published  on  the  1st  day  of  April,  complaining  of  the  terms 
imposed  by  Russia  on  Turkey.  Its  objections  to  the  details  of  the 
treaty,  which  were  clearly  given,  were  intensified  by  the  reservations 
of  Russia  relative  to  their  discussion  by  the  Conference.  Every 
material  stipulation  of  the  treaty,  it  said,  involved  a  departure  from 
the  treaty  of  1856,  and  by  the  declarations  of  1871,  her  Majesty's 
Government  could  not  acquiesce  in  a  withdrawal  from  the  cog- 
nizance of  the  powers  of  articles  which  were  modifications  of  exist- 
ing treaties.  The  combined  effect  of  the  stipulations  upon  the 
interests  of  the  powers  also  furnished  a  reason  against  the  separate 
discussion  of  any  part  of  them.  By  the  articles  relative  to  Bulgaria, 
a  strong  Slav  State  would  be  erected  under  the  auspices  and  control 
of  Russia,  who  would  thus  secure  a  preponderating  influence  in  the 
Black  and  J^gean  Seas,  and  a  considerable  Greek  population  would 
be  merged  into  a  Slav  community  alien  to  it.  The  stipulations  for 
the  better  government  of  Thessaly  and  Epirus,  in  themselves  highly 
commendable,  were  accompanied  by  provisions  the  general  effect  of 
which  would  be  to  increase  the  power  of  Russia  to  the  prejudice  of 
Greece,  and  every  country  having  interests  in  the  Eastern  Mediter- 
ranean. The  territorial  severance  of  Constantinople  from  its  Eu- 
ropean provinces  still  left  would  deprive  the  Porte  of  any  strength 
it  might  receive  from  them,  and  expose  their  inhabitants  to  serious 
risk  of  anarchy.  The  acquisition  of  Bessarabia  and  Batum  made 
Russia  dominant  over  the  vicinity  of  the  Black  Sea,  while  the 
acquisition  of  the  Armenian  strongholds  enabled  it  to  arrest  trade 
between  Europe  and  Persia.  Another  combined  effect  of  the  treaty 
was  "  to  depress,  almost  to  the  point  of  entire  subjection,  the 
political  independence  of  the  Government  of  Constantinople."  The 
formal  jurisdiction  of  that  Government,  including  the  control  of  the 
Black  Sea  Straits,  the  head  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  the  shores  of  the 
Levant,  and  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  Suez  Canal,  ex- 
tended over  geographical  positions  which  must,  under  all  circum- 
stances, be  of  the  deepest  interest  to  Great  Britain.  It  could  not 
be  otherwise  than  a  matter  of  solicitude  that  the  Government  to 
which  this  jurisdiction  belonged  should  be  so  closely  pressed  by  the 
political  outposts  of  a  greatly  superior  power,  that  its  independent 
action,  and  even  political  existence,  was  almost  impossible.  These 
results  arose,  not  so  much  from  the  language  of  any  single  article  of 
the  treaty  as  from  the  operation  of  the  instrument  as  a  whole. 


COMPLICATIONS  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  WAR.        68 1 

"While  England  would  willingly  have  entered  a  congress  in  which 
the  stipulations  could  be  examined  as  a  whole,  neither  British  in- 
terests nor  the  well-being  of  the  Turkish  provinces  would  be  con- 
sulted by  the  assembling  of  a  congress  restricted  by  Prince  Gortch- 
akoff's  latest  reservations. 

On  the  same  day  that  the  circular  appeared,  the  Queen  notified 
Parliament  that  she  was  about  to  call  out,  for  permanent  service, 
the  reserve  force,  and  the  militia  reserve,  or  so  much  of  them  as 
should  be  deemed  necessary.  The  order  was  issued  on  the  next  day, 
commanding  the  reserves  to  assemble  on  or  before  April  19th. 

While  the  breach  between  England  and  Russia  was  thus  widen- 
ing, the  Czar  was  drawing  the  Sultan  of  Turkey  into  close  relations 
with  him,  and  apparently  forming  an  alliance  of  the  two  powers. 
On  the  occasion  of  the  anniversary  of  the  Czar's  accession  to  the  throne, 
March  3d,  the  Sultan  sent  him  a  message  of  congratulation,  "  with 
the  desire  of  renewing  our  friendly  relations."  The  Czar  replied, 
thanking  the  Sultan  for  his  congratulations,  which  he  received  simul- 
taneously with  the  news  of  the  signature  of  the  treaty  of  peace,  and 
perceived  in  the  coincidence  a  presage  of  good  and  lasting  relations 
between  the  two.  The  Grand  Duke  Nicholas,  accompanied  by 
twelve  Russian  generals,  paid  a  visit  of  ceremonial  to  the  Sultan,  in 
the  Dolmabaghtche  Palace,  March  26th,  where  he  was  received  with 
the  utmost  courtesy  and  cordiality  by  the  Sultan,  surrounded  by  his 
ministers,  and  Osman  Pasha  and  other  Generals.  He  then  went  to 
the  Beylerbey  Palace,  and  was  there  called  upon  by  the  Sultan.  On 
the  next  day  he  dined  with  the  Sultan,  the  company  including 
several  Russian  princes  and  generals,  and  Yefik,  Savfet,  Namyk, 
Rauf,  and  Osman  Pashas.  The  Sultan  was  said  to  be  having 
presents  and  an  imperial  order  prepared  for  the  Grand  Duke.. 


APPENDIX  I. 


THE  WILL  OF  PETER  THE  GREAT. 

THE  so-called  will  of  Peter  the  Great,  although  it  is  now  generally  regarded  as  a 
spurious  paper,  has  in  the  past  made  a  prominent  figure  in  the  discussions  of  European 
politics,  particularly  with  reference  to  Kussia  and  Turkey.  It  assumes  to  mark  out  a 
policy  for  the  weakening  and  gradual  absorption  of  the  East,  and  of  all  the  neighboring 
States  of  the  West,  and  the  ultimate  conquest  of  the  whole  West  by  Russia.  The  paper 
which  assumed  to  represent  such  a  will,  was  so  ingeniously  contrived  by  interweaving 
into  its  text  notices  of  events  which  had  already  taken  place  at  the  time  it  was  manufac- 
tured, as  to  seem  to  unfold  a  genuine  policy,  and  make  the  scheme  for  conquests  in  the 
future  appear  real  and  plausible.  Its  appearance  was  calculated  to  create  alarm,  and 
it,  no  doubt,  had  its  influence  over  the  movements  and  combinations  that  were  made 
and  entered  into  while  its  genuineness  was  believed  in.  The  "will"  was  first  brought 
into  notice  in  the  year  1812,  in  a  French  work,  entitled  Du  Progress  de  la  Puissance  Susse, 
depuis  son  Origins  Jmqu'au  Commencement  du  XIX.  siecle,  by  M.  L.  (Of  the  Progress 
of  the  Russian  Power,  from  its  Origin  to  the  beginning  of  the  Nineteenth  Century,  by 
M.  Lesur),  which,  according  to  Sir  Robert  Wilson,  of  the  English  army,  was  published 
under  the  direct  oversight  of  the  French  Government.  The  abstract  of  the  paper  which 
follows,  was  given  in  this  work,  prefaced  by  the  words  :  "I  am  assured  that  there  exist 
in  the  private  archives  of  the  Emperors  of  Russia,  secret  memoirs,  written  in  the  hand 
of  Peter  I.,  in  which  are  exposed  without  evasion  the  projects  which  that  Prince  had 
conceived,  which  he  recommended  to  the  attention  of  his  successors,  and  which  many  of 
them  have  in  effect  followed  with  a  persistence  which  may  be  called  religious." 

In  1836,  M.  Frederick  Gaillardet  published  a  work  called  Memoires  of  the  Chevalier 
d'Eon,  in  which  he  gave  what  he  professed  was  an  exact  copy  of  the  will  of  Peter  the 
Great,  foreshadowing  substantially  the  same  policy  that  was  indicated  hi  the  abstract 
of  Lesur.  It  was  asserted  that  d'Eon,  while  in  Russia,  had  enjoyed  the  unlimited  confi- 
dence of  the  Court,  and  the  privilege  of  making  unrestricted  researches,  and  had  used 
them  to  make  the  copy  of  the  will  of  Peter,  which  he  took  to  France,  and  gave  to  the 
Abbd  de  Bernis,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  to  Louis  XIV.  The  JMemoires  du  Chevalier 
d'Eon  is  a  romance,  with  but  little  foundation,  in  fact,  for  its  incidents  ;  and  it  is  certain 
that  the  will  was  not  known  to  the  public  till  Lesur  published  his  abstract  in  1812.  The 
present  received  theory  of  the  origin  of  the  document,  is  that  Gaillardet  elaborated 
his  version  from  the  abstract  given  by  Lesur,  that  Lesur  wrote  his  abstract  by  dictation 
from  Napoleon  I.,  and  that  Napoleon  invented  the  whole  concern.  The  evidences  of  the 
ungenuineness  of  the  paper  appear  in  certain  phrases  which  a  Russian  would  never  have 
used,  and  the  supposition  that  Lesur  did  not  write  or  even  edit  the  abstract  he  gave,  is 
sustained  by  the  fact  that  he  avowed  no  responsibility  or  original  knowledge  of  the  will, 
(682) 


THE  WILL  OF  PETER  THE  GREAT.  683 

but  merely  said  that  he  was  assured  that  it  existed  ;  and  by  the  style  in  which  he  gave 
it — which  is  crude  and  ill-connected — such  a  style  as  one  might  use  in  dictation,  but 
which  a  cultivated  author,  as  Lesur  was,  would  never  have  written.  The  following  is 
the  abstract  given  by  Lesur,  translated  from  the  original  as  literally  as  the  clearness  of 
the  sense  will  permit : 

1.  To  neglect  nothing  that  will  give  to  the  Russian  nation  European  forms  and 
usages  ;  and  with  this  view,  to  engage  the  different  courts,  and  especially  the  scholars 
of  Europe,  whether  by  speculations  of  interest,  or  by  the  philanthropic  principles  of 
philosophy,  or  by  other  motives,  to  assist  in  this  object. 

2.  To  keep  the  State  continually  in  order  for  war,  so  as  to  harden  the  soldier,  and 
hold  the  nation  always  in  breath  and  ready  to  march  at  the  flrst  signal. 

3.  To  stretch  by  every  possible  means  toward  the  north,  along  the  Baltic,  as  well  as 
toward  the  south,  along  the  Black  Sea;  and  with  this  object : 

4.  To  nurse  the  jealousy  of  England,  Denmark,  and  Brandenburg  against  Sweden ; 
by  reason  of  which  those  powers  will  shut  their  eyes  to  the  aggressions  we  will  commit 
against  that  country,  and  which  we  will  complete  by  subjugating  it.  / 

5.  To  interest  the  house  of  Austria  in  driving  the  Turk  from  Europe,  and  under  that 
pretext,  to  maintain  a  permanent  army  and  establish  docks  on  the  Black  Sea,  and  con- 
stantly advancing,  to  stretch  out  toward  Constantinople. 

6.  To  keep  up  anarchy  in  Poland ;  to  influence  its  diets,  and  especially  the  elections 
of  its  kings ;  to  take  from  it  on  every  occasion  that  shall  present  itself,  and  finish  by  sub- 
jugating it. 

7.  To  contract  a  close  alliance  with  England,  and  cultivate  intimate  relations  with 
it,  by  means  of  a  good  treaty  of  commerce,  to  permit  it  even  to  exercise  a  kind  of  mo- 
nopoly in  the  interior ;  this  will  insensibly  produce  a  familiarity  between  the  English 
merchants  and  sailors  and  those  of  our  nation,  who,  on  their  side,  will  favor  all  means 
of  perfecting  and  aggrandizing  the  Russian  marine,  by  the  aid  of  which  we  must  aim  as 
soon  as  possible  at  the  domination  in  the  Baltic  and  the  Black  Seas,  a  capital  point,  on 
which  depends  the  success  and  the  acceleration  of  our  plans. 

8.  The  testator  recommends  to  all  of  his  successors  to  be  penetrated  with  this  truth, 
that  the  commerce  of  the  Indies  is  the  commerce  of  the  world,  and  that  whoever  has  the 
exclur ive  control  of  it,  is  the  real  sovereign  of  Europe ;  consequently  no  opportunity 
should  be  lost  to  excite  wars  against  Persia,  to  accelerate  its  decay,  to  penetrate  to  the 
Persian  Gulf,  and  then  attempt  to  re-establish  the  ancient  commerce  of  the  Levant 
through  Syria. 

9.  To  engage  at  every  cost,  whether  by  force  or  by  stratagem,  in  the  quarrels  of 
Europe,  and  especially  in  those  of  Germany  ;  and  for  this  object : 

10.  To  seek  and  keep  up  a  constant  alliance  with  Austria ;  to  flatter  that  power  in 
its  favorite  idea  of  predominance ;  to  profit  by  the  least  ascendency  we  may  gain  over  it; 
to  engage  it  in  ruinous  wars,  so  as  to  enfeeble  it  by  degrees  ;  even  to  assist  it  sometimes, 
and  never  to  desist  from  secretly  making  enemies  to  it  throughout  Europe,  and  particu- 
larly in  Germany,  by  exciting  against  it  the  jealousy  and  mistrust  of  the  princes. 

NOTE. — We  shall  succeed  in  this  the  more  easily,  said  Peter,  because  this  proud 
house  has  already  manifested  more  than  once  a  disposition  to  domineer  over  the  ancient 
States  of  Europe,  and  because  on  every  occasion  when  it  shall  undertake  it,  we  shall 
acquire  some  of  the  good  provinces  which  border  on  Hungary ;  and  we  will  finish  by 
incorporating  Hungary  into  an  empire,  as  a  compensation. 

11.  Always  to  choose  among  the  princesses  of  Germany  wives  for  the  Russian 
princes,  and  thus  multiply  our  alliances  by  relations  of  family  and  interest,  so  as  to  in- 
crease our  influence  in  that  Empire. 

12.  To  make  use  of  religious  ascendency  over  the  disunited  or  schismatic  Greeks  who 
are  found  in  Hungary,  Turkey,  and  the  southern  parts  of  Poland,  to  attach  them  to  us 
by  all  artful  ways,  so  as  to  be  called  their  protectors,  and  acquire  a  title  to  the  sacerdotal 
supremacy.    Under  this  pretext,  and  by  means  of  it,  Turkey  will  be  subjugated  ;  and 


684  APPENDIX  I. 

Poland,  uot  being  able  to  sustain  itself  any  longer,  either  by  its  own  forces  or  by  political 
alliances,  will  submit  itself  to  the  yoke. 

13.  Then,  every  instant  will  become  precious.    It  will  be  necessary  to  prepare  in 
secret  all  the  batteries  to  strike  the  grand  blow,  and  make  them  play  with  an  order,  a 
skill,  and  a  celerity  that  shall  give  Europe  no  time  to  come  to  itself.     We  must  begin 
bj  proposing  separately,  and  with  great  circumspection,  first  to  the  Court  of  Versailles, 
then  to  that  of  Vienna,  to  divide  with  one  of  them  the  empire  of  the  world,  accompany- 
ing the  proposition  with  the  remark,  that  Russia  being  already,  in  fact,  sovereign  of  all 
the  East,  and  having  nothing  more  to  gain  except  the  title,  this  proposition  on  its  part 
can  not  be  suspected  by  them.    Doubtless  the  proposition  will  not  fail  to  flatter  them 
and  to  kindle  a  deadly  war  between  them  which  would  soon  become  general ;  for  in  view 
of  the  extended  alliances  and  relations  of  these  two  rival  courts  and  natural  enemies,  all 
the  other  powers  in  Europe  would  be  compelled,  by  interest,  to  take  part  in  the  quarrel 
between  them. 

14.  In  the  midst  of  this  general  fury,  Russia  would  be  asked  for  aid,  sometimes  by 
one,  sometimes  by  the  other  of  the  belligerent  powers,  and,  after  having  hesitated  for 
a  long  while,  so  as  to  give  them  time  to  exhaust  themselves,  it  would  appear  at  last  to 
decide  for  the  House  of  Austria  ;  and  while  advancing  its  troops  of  the  line  to  the  Rhine, 
it  would  cause  them  to  be  followed  immediately  by  a  swarm  of  Asiatic  hordes  ;  and  as 
the  former  should  advance  into  Germany,  two  large  fleets  should  set  sail — the  one  from 
the  8ea  of  Azov  and  the  other  from  the  port  of  Archangel — charged  with  bodies  of  these 
same  hordes,  under  the  convoy  of  the  armed  fleets  of  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Baltic.    The 
fleets  would  appear  suddenly  in  the  Mediterranean  and  on  the  ocean  to  pour  out  all 
these  nomadic  peoples,  ferocious  and  greedy  for  booty,  and  to  inundate  with  them 
Italy,  Spain,  and  France,  of  which  they  would  pillage  one  part  of  the  inhabitants,  reduce 
another  to  slavery  to  people  with  them  the  deserts  of  Siberia,  and  subject  the  rest  to 
euch  a  condition  that  they  would  not  be  able  to  shake  off  the  yoke.     These  diversions 
•would  then  give  complete  latitude  to  the  army  of  the  line  to  act  with  the  greatest  pos- 
sible vigor  and  certainty  in  conquering  and  subjugating  the  rest  of  Europe. 

The  version  of  Gaillardet,  since  it  professes  to  be  a  copy  of  the  original  document, 
Is  more  formal  and  finished  in  style,  and  a  little,  but  only  a  little,  more  minute  in  detail 
than  that  of  Lesur.  It  is  accompanied  with  an  introduction,  giving  a  general  summary 
of  the  views  of  the  supposititious  testator,  which  does  not  appear  in  Lesur's  abstract. 
This  is  followed  by  the  fourteen  articles,  the  first  twelve  of  which  are  the  same  in  sub- 
stance, differing  only  slightly  in  details  and  arrangement  as  those  of  Lesur,  and  only 
the  last  two  articles  show  material  variation.  The  document,  as  given  in  the  Memoires 
du  Chevalier  cTEon,  is  entitled,  "  Copy  of  the  plan  of  European  domination,  left  by  Peter 
the  Great  to  his  successors  on  the  throne  of  Russia,  and  deposited  in  the  archives  of  the 
palace  of  Peterhoff,  near  St.  Petersburg."  The  introduction  is  as  follows  :  "In  the 
name  of  the  Most  Holy  and  Indivisible  Trinity,  We,  Peter,  Emperor  and  Autocrat  of  all 
Russia,  etc.,  to  all  of  our  descendants  and  successors  on  the  throne  of  the  Russian  nation, 
the  Great  God,  from  whom  we  hold  our  existence,  having  constantly  enlightened  us 
with  His  wisdom  and  sustained  us  with  His  divine  support,  etc. 

"  Here  Peter  I.  avers  that,  according  to  his  views,  which  he  believes  to  be  those  of 
Providence,  he  regards  the  Russian  people  as  called  in  the  future  to  the  general  domi- 
nation of  Europe.  He  founds  this  belief  on  the  fact  that,  according  to  him,  the  European 
nations  have,  for  the  most  part,  arrived  at  an  age  approaching  decadence,  to  which 
they  are  rapidly  marching ;  whence  it  follows  that  they  could  be  easily  and  indubitably 
conquered  by  a  young  and  new  people,  whenever  the  latter  should  have  attained  all  its 
force  and  growth.  The  Russian  monarch  regards  this  future  invasion  of  the  Western 
and  Eastern  countries  by  the  North  as  a  periodic  movement  decreed  in  the  designs  of 
Providence,  which  thus  regenerated  the  Roman  people  through  the  invasion  of  the  bar- 
barians. He  compares  those  emigrations  of  Northern  men  to  the  overflow  of  the  Nile, 
which  at  certain  times  fertilizes  with  its  slime  the  impoverished  fields  of  Egypt.  He 


THE  WILL  OF  PETER  THE  GREAT.  685 

adds  that  Russia,  which  he  found  a  stream  and  will  leave  a  river,  will  become  under  his 
successors  a  great  sea  destined  to  fertilize  impoverished  Europe,  which  its  waves  will 
overflow  in  spite  of  all  the  dykes  which  feeble  hands  can  oppose  to  it,  if  his  descendants 
shall  know  how  to  direct  its  course.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  he  leaves  to  them  the  fol- 
lowing instructions,  and  recommends  them  to  their  constant  attention  and  observa- 
tion, as  Moses  recommended  the  tables  of  the  law  to  the  Jewish  people."  Here  follow 
the  articles,  of  which  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  are  : 

"  13.  Sweden  dismembered,  Persia  vanquished,  Poland  subjugated,  Turkey  con- 
quered, our  armies  united,  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Baltic  guarded  by  our  fleets,  we  must 
propose  separately  and  very  secretly,  first  to  the  Court  of  Versailles,  then  to  that  of 
Vienna,  to  share  with  them  the  empire  of  the  world.  If  one  of  them  accepts,  which 
can  not  fail  to  be  the  case,  while  flattering  their  ambition  and  their  self-love,  to  make 
use  of  one  to  crush  the  other ;  then  to  crush  in  its  turn  the  one  which  shall  remain,  by 
engaging  with  it  in  a  contest  which  can  not  be  doubtful,  since  Russia  will  already  possess 
all  the  East  and  a  large  part  of  Europe." 

"  14.  If,  which  is  not  probable,  both  should  refuse  the  offer  of  Russia,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  stimulate  quarrels  between  them  and  make  them  exhaust  each  other. 
Then,  taking  advantage  of  a  decisive  moment,  Russia  shall  pour  her  troops,  assembled 
in  advance,  upon  Germany,  at  the  same  time  that  two  fleets  shall  issue — the  one  from 
the  Sea  of  Azov,  the  other  from  the  port  of  Archangel— charged  with  Asiatic  hordes, 
under  convoy  of  the  armed  fleets  of  the  Black  and  Baltic  Seas.  Advancing  by  the  Med- 
iterranean and  the  ocean,  they  shall  inundate  France  on  the  one  side,  while  Germany 
is  overwhelmed  on  the  other,  and  these  two  countries  being  conquered,  the  rest  of 
Europe  will  pass  easily  and  without  our  striking  another  blow  under  the  yoke.  Thus 
Europe  may,  and  should,  be  subjected." 


APPENDIX    II. 


THE  TREATY  OF  SAN  STEFAUO. 

1.  In  order  to  put  an  end  to  the  perpetual  conflicts  between  Turkey  and  Montenegro, 
the  frontier  dividing  both  countries  will  be  rectified  in  the  following  way : — From  the 
Jobrostcha  Mountain  the  frontier  will  follow  the  line  indicated  at  the  Constantinople 
Conference  to  Korito,  through  Bilek,  thence  will  go  to  Gatchko,  Metochia,  Gatchko  be- 
longing to  Montenegro,  toward  the  confluence  of  the  Piva  and  Tara,  rejoining  the  Drina 
northward  to  its  confluence  with  the  Lim.     The  Oriental  frontier  will  follow  the  last- 
named  river  to  Drijepolie  and  through  Iloskai  and  Sukhaplanina,  leaving  to  Montene- 
gro, Bihor,  Roshai,  taking  in  Rugowo,  Slava,  and  Gusigue  along  the  mountain  ridge, 
through  Shlieb,  Saklen,  along  the  north  frontier  by  the  mountain  tops  of  Koprivnik,  Ba- 
bavitch,  Borvih,  to  the  highest  summit  of  Prokled ;  then  by  the  summit  of  the  Biskoshik 
Scait  to  Lake  Tchicenitlod,  dividing  it  from  Tchicenikastrati,  it  will  cross  the  Lake  of 
Scutari  and  join  the  Boyana,  whose  course  it  will  follow  to  the  sea.   Nicsic,  Gatchko,  Spuz, 
Podgoritza,  Zabliak,  and  Antivari  remain  to  Montenegro.     A  European  commission,  in 
which  the  Porte  and  Montenegro  will  be  represented,  will  haye  to  fix  the  definitive  limits 
of  the  principality  modifying  the  general  outline  when  found  necessary  and  equitable  for 
the  respective  interests  and  tranquillity  of  both  countries,  the  necessary  equivalents  being 
agreed  to.     The  navigation  of  the  Boyana,  which  always  proyoked  contests  between 
the  Porte  and  Montenegro,  will  be  the  object  of  special  regulation  by  the  same  Europeau 
commission. 

2.  The  Sublime  Porte  definitely  recognizes  the  independence  of  Montenegro.    An 
agreement  between  the  Governments  of  Russia  and  Turkey  and  Montenegro  will  ulti- 
mately determine  the  character  and  form  of  the  relations  between  the  Porte  and  Mon- 
tenegro respecting  the  agents  of  Montenegro  in  Constantinople  and  other  localities  of  the 
Ottoman  Empire  where  necessary.    The  Montenegrins  will  submit  to  the  Ottoman  laws 
and  authorities  whenever  traveling  in  Turkey,  according  to  international  law  and  uses. 
A  convention  shall  be  concluded  between  the  Porte  and  Montenegro  regulating  the  rela- 
tion of  the  inhabitants  on  the  confines  of  both  countries,  and  the  military  works  on  the 
confines  at  points  where  an  understanding  would  be  impossible,  will  be  decided  by  Rus- 
sian and  Austrian  arbitration.    Should  disputes  or  conflicts  arise  except  respecting  terri- 
torial claims,  the  Porte  and  Montenegro  will  leave  the  settlement  to  the  common 
arbitration  of  Russia  and  Austria.    The  Montenegrin  troops  will  evacuate  the  territory 
not  included  in  the  above-mentioned  delimitation  within  ten  days  after  the  peace  prelimi- 
naries have  been  signed. 

3.  Serria  is  recognized  as  independent.     The  frontier  marked  on  the  annexed  map 
will  follow  the  course  of  the  Drina,  leaving  Little  Zvornik  and  Zakar  to  Servia,  along 
the  ancient  boundary  to  Decevas,  near  Storiac,  thence  along  to  the  river  Raska,  and 
along  it  to  Novi  Bazar  ;  thence  across  the  villages  Mekigne,  Trooviste,  to  the  source  of 
the  river,  the  line  will  go  by  Bazar  Planita,  in  the  Ibar  valley,  and  follow  the  rivulet 
which  flows  into  the  river  at  Ribanic,  whence  it  will  follow  the  rivers  Ibar,  Pilnitza,  and 
Lab,  and  the  rivulet  Balutza,  to  its  source  on  the  Grapatchtitza  Planix,  thence  by  the 

(686) 


THE  TREATY  OF  SAN  STEFANO.  68? 

summits  separating  the  rivers  Kriva  and  Veternitza  it  will  rejoin  by  the  shortest  route 
the  last-named  river  at  Mivratzkas,  will  ascend  it,  cross  the  Miovtza  Plants:  and  descend 
toward  the  Morava,  near  the  village  of  Calimanci,  thence  descend  the  Morava  to  the  river 
Messina,  near  the  village  of  Staikovotzi,  remounting  the  river  Lin'oerazda  and  the  rivulet 
Koukavitza,  crossing  the  Sukhaplanina,  following  the  rivulet  Vryls  to  Nihava,  and  so 
on  to  the  village  of  Kruplatz,  whence  the  line  will  join  l>y  the  shortest  route  the  ancient 
Servian  frontier  south-east  of  Karasulbare  and  follow  it  to  the  Danube.  Ada  Kaleh  will  be 
evacuated  and  razed.  A  Turkish  and  Servian  commission,  assisted  by  a  Kussian  com- 
missary, will  establish  on  the  spot  the  definitive  line  of  the  frontier  in  the  course  of  three 
months,  and  definitively  regulate  the  questions  of  the  Drina  Islands.  When  the  com- 
mission discusses  the  question  of  the  Servian  and  Bulgarian  frontiers,  a  Bulgarian  dele- 
gate will  be  admitted. 

4.  Mussulmans  possessing  property  in  the  territories  annexed  to  Servia  and  wishing 
to  settle  out  of  the  principality  will  be  allowed  to  hold  such  property  according  to  the 
existing  tenure.    A  Turco-Servian  commission,  assisted  by  a  Russian  commissary,  will 
have  to  decide  the  question  of  sovereignty.    In  all  matters  respecting  immovable  prop- 
erty involving  Mussulman  interests  the  same  commission  will  have  to  regulate,  within 
three  years,  the  mode  of  alienation  of  goods  belonging  to  estates  or  vakufs,  and  ques- 
tions of  private  interests,  until  the  conclusion  of  a  direct  treaty  between  Turkey  and 
Servia  determining  the  character  and  form  of  their  common  relations.    Servian  subjects 
traveling  or  living  in  Turkey  will  be  bound  by  international  law.    The  Servian  troops 
will  have  to  evacuate  within  fifteen  days  from  the  signature  of  the  peace  preliminaries 
the  territory  above  mentioned. 

5.  The  Sublime  Porte  recognizes  the  independence  of  Rumania,  which  will  present 
its  claim  to  an  indemnity  to  be  discussed  between  both  parties.    Until  the  conclusion  of 
a  treaty  between  Rumania  and  Turkey,  Rumanian  subjects  will  enjoy  in  Turkey  all  the 
rights  guaranteed  to  the  subjects  of  the  other  European  Powers. 

6.  Bulgaria  is  constituted  as  a  tributary  Ottoman  principality,  with  a  Christian  Gov- 
ernment and  a  national  militia.    The  definitive  boundaries  of  the  principality  will  be 
determined  by  a  special  Russo-Turkish  commission.     Before  the  evacuation  of  Rumelia 
by  the  Russian  Imperial  army  it  will  take  notice  of  all  modifications  introduced  ou  the 
spot  in  the  general  draft ;  the  nationality  of  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  ;  the  topo- 
graphical necessities  and  practical  interests  of  the  local  populations.    The  territorial  ex- 
tension of  Bulgaria  is  fixed  in  general  sketches  on  a  map,  which  will  serve  as  the  basis 
for  the  definitive  delimitation.     From  the  new  Servian  frontier  the  line  will  follow  the 
occidental  boundary  of  Vranya  to  the  Kara  Dagh  ridge.   Turning  westward  it  will  follow 
the  occidental  boundaries  of  the  Cazas  Koumanovo,  Mochani,  and  Kaldanelk  to  Mount 
Karab,  thence  from  the  river  Velestchitza  to  its  junction  with  the  Blanek  Alix,  south- 
ward by  the  Drina  and  occidental  limits  of  the  Gaza  Ochrida  toward  Mount  Linas,  and 
along  the  occidental  limits  of  the  Cazas  Gortcha  and  Starovo  to  Grammes,  and  thence  by 
the  Kastoria  Lake  it  will  rejoin  the  river  Moglenitza,  follow  it,  pass  southward  to  Yan- 
nitza,  continue  by  Wardars  Mouth  and  Galoko  toward  Porga  and  Sarakoi,  thence  across 
the  middle  lake  to  Tchikguel  Shoumas  and  Karasson,  and  by  the  sea-coast  to  Buruguel. 
North-westward  toward  Tchaltepe  it  will  ascend  by  the  Rhodope  ridge  to  Oushovo,  as- 
cend the   Kara-Balkans,  Eshekkouladji,  Tchepelion,  Karakolas,  and  Tchiklar  to  the 
river  Adla.    Thence  the  frontier  will  go  in  the  direction  of  the  town  of  Tchirmen,  and, 
leaving  Adrianople  southward,  will  go  through  the  villages  of  Suguthod,  Karahamze, 
Arnaoutkoi,  Akardji,  Eadnijie,  to  the  river  Tekederessi,  following  the  Tekederesai  and 
Tchoilonderessi  rivers  to  Louleh  Burgas,  and  by  the  river  to  the  village  of  Serguen  will 
follow  through  the  mountains  forward  Hakim  Tabiassi  to  the  Black  Sea.    It  will  leave 
the  sea-coast  near  Mangolia,  pass  along  by  Tultcha,  down  to  the  Danube  above  Rassova. 

7.  The  Prince  of  Bulgaria  will  be  freely  elected  by  the  population  and  confirmed  by 
the  Porte  with  the  assent  of  the  European  Powers.    No  member  of  the  reigning  dynasties 
of  the  Great  Powers  can  be  elected  Prince  of  Bulgaria.     In  case  of  a  vacancy  the  elec- 


688  APPENDIX  II. 

tion  of  a  new  prince  will  take  place  under  the  same  conditions  and  with  the  same  forms. 
An  assembly  of  Bulgarian  notables  will  meet  in  Philippopolis  or  Tirnova  and  draw  up 
before  the  election  of  the  Prince,  under  the  supervision  of  a  Russian  commissary  in 
presence  of  a  Turkish  commissary,  the  organization  of  the  future  administration.  In 
localities  where  there  are  Bulgarians,  Turks,  Wallachians,  Greeks,  and  others,  account 
will  be  taken  of  the  rights  and  interests  of  each  population.  The  introduction  of  new 
regulations  nud  the  supervision  of  their  execution  will  be  intrusted  for  two  years  to  an 
Imperial  Russian  commissary.  At  the  end  of  the  first  year  after  the  introduction  of  the 
new  regulations,  and  if  an  understanding  between  the  cabinets  be  obtained,  delegates, 
if  found  necessary,  will  be  associated  with  the  Imperial  Russian  commissary. 

8.  The  Ottoman  army  shall  no  longer  remain  in  Bulgaria.    All  the  old  fortresses 
shall  be  razed  at  the  expense  of  the  local  Government.    The  Sublime  Porte  shall  have 
the  right  to  dispose  as  it  pleases  of  the  war  material  and  other  articles  belonging  to  the 
Ottoman  Government  which  may  remain  in  the  Danubian  fortresses  already  evacuated 
by  virtue  of  the  armistice  of  the  31st  of  January,  as  well  as  of  any  which  may  be  in  the 
fortified  towns  of  Shumla  and  Varna,  until  the  complete  formation  of  an  indigenous 
militia,  sufficient  to  preserve  order,  security,  and  tranquillity,  the  number  of  which  shall 
be  fixed  subsequently  by  agreement  between  the  Ottoman  Government  and  the  Russian 
Imperial  Cabinet.    The  Russian  troops  will  occupy  the  country,  and  lend  armed  inter- 
vention to  the  commissary  in  case  of  need.    This  occupation  will  also  be  limited  to  an 
approximate  period  of  two  years.    The  Russian  effective  army  of  occupation,  consisting 
of  six  divisions  of  infantry  and  two  of  cavalry,  which  will  remain  in  Bulgaria  after  the 
evacuation  of  Turkey  by  the  Imperial  army,  will  not  exceed  fifty  thousand  men,  and 
shall  be  maintained  at  the  expense  of  the  country  occupied.    The  Russian  troops  in 
Bulgaria  will  preserve  communications  with  Russia,  not  only  via  Rumania,  but  also 
through  ports  on  the  Black  Sea,  Varna,  and  Burgas,  where  the  necessary  depots  may 
be  organized  for  the  duration  of  the  occupation. 

9.  The  amount  of  the  annual  tribute  which  Bulgaria  shall  pay  to  the  Suzerain  Court, 
through  the  agency  of  a  bank  which  shall  subsequently  be  designated  by  the  Sublime 
Porte,  will  be  determined  by  an  agreement  between   the  Russian  Government  and  the 
Ottoman  and  other  cabinets.    At  the  end  of  the  first  year  a  new  organization  of  the 
tribute  will  be  established,  based  upon  the  mean  revenue  of  the  whole  of  the  territory 
forming  part  of  the  principality.    Bulgaria  will  be  substituted  for  the  Ottoman  Govern- 
ment in  its  charges  and  obligations  toward  the  Rustchuk  and  Varna  Railway  Company, 
after  an  understanding  between  the  Sublime  Porte,  the  Government  of  the  principality, 
and  the  administration  of  this  company.    A  regulation  relative  to  the  other  railways 
passing  through  the  principality  is  also  reserved  for  an  agreement  between  the  Sublime 
Porte,  the  Government  of  Bulgaria,  and  the  administration  of  the  companies  interested. 

10.  The  Sublime  Porte  shall  have  the  right  to  make  use  of  the  Bulgarian  route 
for  the  transport  by  roads  to  be  determined,  of  its  troops,  ammunition,  and  commissariat 
in  the  provinces  situated  beyond  the  principality  and  vice  versa.    In  order  to  avoid  diffi- 
culties and  misunderstanding  in  the  exercise  of  this  right,  while  guaranteeing  the  mili- 
tary necessities  of  the  Sublime  Porte  a  special  regulation  will  establish  the  conditions 
within  the  space  of  three  months  after  the  ratification  of  the  present  document.     By  an 
understanding  between  the  Sublime  Porte  and  the  Bulgarian  Administration,  it  is  well 
understood  that  this  right  will  extend  only  to  the  Ottoman  regular  troops,  and  that  the 
irregulars — Bashi-Bazouks  and  Circassians— will  be  absolutely  excluded  from  it.    The 
Porte  reserves  also  the  right  to  send  through  the  principalities  its  mails,  and  there  to 
keep  up  a  fixed  line  of  communication.    The  two  points  will  be  likewise  regulated  in 
the  manner  and  at  the  time  above  indicated. 

11.  The  Mussulman  land-owners  or  others  who  may  fix  their  personal  residence  out- 
side the  principality  will  be  able  to  preserve  their  landed  property  by  causing  it  to  be 
administered  by  others.    Turco-Bulgarian  commissaries  will  sit  in  the  principal  centers 
of  population,  under  the  superintendence  of  Russian  commissioners,  to  administer  as  the 


THE  TREATY  OF  SAN  STEFANO.  689 

supreme  power,  for  the  period  of  two  years,  in  all  questions  relative  to  the  verifying  of 
claims  to  landed  property  in  which  the  interests  of  Mussulmans  or  others  shall  be 
involved.  Analogous  commissions  will  be  intrusted  to  regulate  during  two  years  all 
affairs  relative  to  the  mode  of  alienation  and  management,  or  for  the  USB  on  account  of 
the  Sublime  Porte  of  the  lands  of  the  State  and  of  the  Vakufs.  At  the  expiration  of 
two  years  all  lands  which  shall  not  have  been  claimed  will  be  sold  by  auction,  and  the 
product  will  be  devoted  to  the  support  of  the  widows  and  orphans — both  of  Mussulmans 
and  Christians — the  sufferers  by  the  late  events.  Inhabitants  of  the  Bulgarian  principal- 
ity who  may  travel  or  remain  in  other  parts  of  the  Ottoman  Empire  will  be  subject  to  the 
Ottoman  laws  and  authorities. 

12.  All  the  fortresses  of  the  Danube  shall  be  razed.    There  shall  henceforth  be  no 
more  fortified  towns  upon  the  banks  of  this  river,  nor  ships  of  war  in  the  waters  of  the 
principalities  of  Rumania,   Servia,  and  Bulgaria,  save  guard-boats  and  light  vessels 
intended  for  the  river  police  and  coast-guard  services.    The  rights,  obligations,  and  pre- 
rogatives of  the  International  Commission  of  the  Lower  Danube  are  maintained  intact. 

13.  The  Sublime  Porte  undertakes  the  re-establishment  of  the  navigation  of  the 
passage  of  Sulina,  and  the  compensation  of  the  private  individuals  whose  property  may 
have  suffered  on  account  of  the  war,  and  from  the  interruption  of  navigation  of  the 
Danube,  assigning  for  the  purposes  of  this  double  expense  the  sum  of  500,000  francs  out 
of  the  moneys  due  to  them  by  the  Danubian  Commission. 

14.  The  European  proposals  communicated  to  the  Ottoman  Plenipotentiaries  in  the 
first  sitting  of  the  Conference  at  Constantinople,  with  the  modifications  which  shall  be 
determined  upon  by  common  agreement  between  the  Porte  and  the  Governments  of 
Russia,  Austria,  and  Hungary,  shall  be  immediately  introduced  into  Bosnia  and  Herze- 
govina.    The  arrears  of  payment  will  not  be  exacted,  and  the  current  revenues  of  these 
provinces  up  to  the  1st  of  March,  1880,  shall  be  exclusively  employed  to  indemnify  the 
families  of  refugees  and  sufferers  by  recent  events,  without  distinction  of  race  or  religion, 
according  to  the  local  needs.    The  sum  which  will  annually  revert  afterward  to  the  cen- 
tral government  will  be  subsequently  fixed  by  a  special  understanding  between  Turkey, 
Russia,  Austria,  and  Hungary. 

15.  The  Sublime  Porte  undertakes  scrupulously  to  apply  in  the  island  of  Crete  the 
regulation  put  iu  force  in  1868,  while  paying  regard  to  the  wishes  expressed  by  the  indig- 
enous population.    An  analogous  ordinance  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  localities  will 
be  also  introduced  into  Epirus,  Thessaly,  and  other  portions  of  Turkey  in  Europe,  for 
which  there  will  be  a  special  organization  not  within  the  purview  of  the  present  docu- 
ment.   Special  commission?,  in  which  the  indigenous  element  shall  largely  participate, 
shall  be  commissioned  in  each  province  to  elaborate  the  details  of  the  new  ordinance. 
The  result  of  these  labors  shall  be  submitted  to  the  examination  of  the  Sublime  Porte, 
which  will  consult  the  Russian  Government  before  putting  them  in  execution. 

16.  As  the  evacuation  by  the  Russian  troops  of  the  territories  in  Armenia,  which  are 
to  be  restored  to  Turkey,  might  give  rise  to  conflicts  and  prejudicial  complications  in 
the  relations  of  the  two  countries,  the  Porte  undertakes  to  effect  without  further  delay 
the  ameliorations  and  reforms  called  for  by  local  requirements  in  the  provinces  inhabited 
by  Armenians,  and  to  guarantee  their  security  against  Kurds  and  Circassians. 

17.  A  full  amnesty  shall  be  extended  to  Ottoman  subjects  compromised  in  recent 
events,  and  all  persons  now  incarcerated  by  reason  of  these  or  sent  into  exile  shall  be 
immediately  restored  to  liberty. 

18  and  19.  The  Sublime  Porte  shall  take  into  serious  consideration  the  opinion  pro- 
nounced by  the  Commissioners  of  the  mediating  Powers  with  regard  to  the  possession 
of  the  town  of  Khotoor,  and  undertakes  to  cause  the  execution  of  the  work  of  definitive 
demarkation  of  the  Turco-Persian  frontier.  The  indemnities  for  the  war  and  the  lessen 
entailed  upon  Russia,  which  the  Emperor  of  Russia  claims  and  which  the  Sublime  Porte 
has  undertaken  to  reimburse,  consist  of  :  A.  Nine  hundred  millions  of  roubles  for  the 
expenses  of  the  war.  B.  Four  hundred  millions  of  roubles  for  damage  caused  to  the 


690  APPENDIX  II. 

southern  sea-coast  of  the  country,  to  its  commerce,  exports,  industry,  and  railways. 

C.  A  hundred  millions  of  roubles  for  damage  caused  to  the  Caucasus  by  invasion. 

D.  Ten  millions  of  roubles  for  damage  (with  interest)  caused  to  Russian  subjects  and 
institution?  in  Turkey ;  total,  1,410,000,000  of  roubles.    Taking  into  consideration  the 
financial  embarrassments  of  Turkey,  and  in  accordance  with  the  desire  of  the  Sultan,  the 
Emperor  of  Russia  consents  to  exchange  the  payment  of  the  greater  portion  of  the 
sums  enumerated  in  the  preceding  paragraph  for  the  following  territorial  concessions  : 
A.  The  sanjak  of  Tultcha— that  is,  the  districts  of  Kilia,  Sulina  Mabumdic,  Isaktcha, 
Tultcha,  Matchin,  Baba  Dagh,  Hirsova,  Kustendje,  and  Medjidie,  as  well  as  the  islands 
of  the  Danube  Delta  and  the  Isle  of  Serpents.    Russia,  not  desiring  to  annex  this  terri- 
tory or  the  islands  of  the  Danube  Delta,  reserves  the  power  to  exchange  it  for  the  por- 
tion of  Bessarabia  alienated  by  the  treaty  of  1856,  and  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  arm 
of  the  Kilia  and  the  mouth  of  the  Stary  Stamboul.    The  question  of  the  partition  of  the 
waters  and  fisheries  shall  be  regulated  by  a  Russo-Rumanian  commission  within  the  space 
of  a  year  after  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  of  peace.    S.  Ardahan,  Kars,  Batum,  Bay- 
azid,  and  the  territory  as  far  as  the  Soghanli  Dagh.    Roughly  speaking,  the  frontier, 
starting  from  the  Black  Sea,  will  follow  the  ridges  of  mountains  which  separate  the 
affluents  of  the  river  Hopa  from  those  of  the  Tchonisk  and  the  chain  of  mountains  by  the 
town  of  Artvin  to  the  river  Tchoruk,  near  the  villages  of  Ailat  and  Bechagesthst ;  then 
the  frontier  will  run  along  the  summits  of  Mounts  Derenik,  Ghexi,  Hortsheyar,  and 
Bedigindagh,  by  the  ridge  separating  the  affluents  of  the  rivers  Tortum  Tchai,  and 
Tchoruk,  and  over  the  heights  near  Yali  Vihim,  coming  out  at  the  village  of  Vilim  Kilissa 
on  the  river  Tortum  Tchai ;  thence  it  will  foil  >w  the  Sirri  Dagh  chain  to  the  pass  of  the 
same  name,  passing  south  of  the  village  of  Norman.    It  will  then  turn  south-east  and  go 
to  Zewin,  whence,  passing  west  of  the  road  leading  from  Zewin  to  the  village  of  Ardost 
and  Khorassan,  it  will  proceed  south  over  the  Soghanli  chain  as  far  as  the  village  of 
Gilitchman  ;  then  by  the  ridge  of  Sharian  Dagh  it  will  reach  a  point  ten  versts  south  of 
Hamaur,  in  the  defile  of  Murad  Tchai ;  it  will  then  follow  the  ridge  of  the  Ala  Dagh 
and  the  summits  of  the  Hori  and  Tan  Dur,  and  passing  south  of  the  valley  of  BayaziJ, 
will  rejoin  the  old  Turco-Persian  frontier  south  of  Lake  Gazil  Gol.     The  definitive  limits 
of  the  territory  annexed  to  Russia,  indicated  upon  the  map  annexed,  shall  be  fixed  by  a 
commission  composed  of  Russian  and  Ottoman  delegates.    This  commission  will  take 
into  account,  in  its  labors  connected  with  the  topography  of  the  locality,  considerations 
for  good  administration,  and  proper  conditions  for  assuring  the  tranquillity  of  the  coun- 
try.    C.  The  territories  mentioned  in  paragraphs  A  and  JB  are  ceded  to  Russia  as  an 
equivalent  for  the  sum  of  1,100,000,000  of  roubles.    As  for  the  rest  of  the  indemnity,  with 
the  exception  of  10,000,000  of  roubles  due  to  Russian  interests  and  institutions  in  Turkey, 
or  300,000,000  roubles,  the  mode  of  payment  of  this  sum  and  the  guarantee  to  be  given 
for  it  are  regulated  by  agreement  between  the  Imperial  Government  of  Russia  and  that  of 
his  Majesty  the  Sultan.    D.  Ten  millions  of  roubles,  claimed  as  an  indemnity  for  Rus- 
sian subjects  and  institutions  in  Turkey,  shall  be  paid  by  degrees,  as  the  claims  of  the 
persons  interested  shall  have  been  examined  by  the  Russian  Embassy  at  Constantinople 
and  transmitted  to  the  Sublime  Porte. 

20.  The  Sublime  Porte  shall  take  efficacious  measures  for  the  amicable  settlement 
of  all  the  lawsuits  of  Russian  subjects  pending  for  several  years,  compensate  the  latter 
if  there  be  occasion,  and  cause  the  judgments  delivered  to  be  executed  without  delay. 

21.  Those  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  localities  ceded  to  Russia  who  may  desire  to 
establish  their  residence  outside  those  territories  will  be  at  liberty  to  depart,  selling 
their  landed  property.    Three  years'  delay,  dating  from  the  ratification  of  the  present 
document,  are  granted  to  them  for  this  purpose.    Beyond  that  period  those  inhabitants 
who  shall  not  have  left  the  country  or  sold  their  lands  will  be  Russian  subjects.    Lauded 
property  belonging  to  the  State,  or  pious  establishments  situated  outside  the  aforesaid  local- 
ities, are  to  be  sold  within  the  same  period  of  three  years,  by  means  which  shall  be  deter- 
mined by  ti  Russo-Turkish  special  commission.    The  same  commission  shall  be  intrusted 


THE  TREATY  OF  SAN  STEFANO.  691 

to  determine  the  mode  of  the  withdrawal  by  the  Ottoman  Government  of  the  war  ma- 
terial, ammunition,  provisions,  and  other  articles  belonging  to  the  State,  which  may  be 
in  the  towns,  cities,  and  localities  ceded  to  Russia  and  not  occupied  at  present  by  the 
Russian  troops. 

22.  Russian  clergymen,  pilgrims,  and  monks  traveling  or  staying  in  European  and 
Asiatic  Turkey  shall  enjoy  the  same  rights,  advantages,  and  privileges  as  foreign  clergy- 
men belonging  to  other  nationalities.    The  right  of  official  protection  of  the  Imperial 
Embassy  and  Russian  Consuls  in  Turkey  is  recognized  both  with  regard  to  the  persons 
aforementioned  and  to  their  possessions.    Religious  and  philanthropic  establishments 
and  others,  at  holy  places  and  elsewhere,  of  the  monks  of  Mount  Athos,  of  Russian 
origin,  shall  be  maintained  in  their  former  possessions  and  privileges,  and  shall  continue 
to  enjoy,  in  the  three  convents  which  belong  to  them,  and  in  their  dependencies,  the 
same  rights  and  prerogatives  as  those  assured  to  the  other  religious  establishments  and 
the  Mount  Athos  convents. 

23.  All  treaties,  conventions,  and  undertakings  previously  concluded  between  the 
two  high  contracting  parties  relative  to  the  commerce,  jurisdiction,  and  position  of 
Russian  subjects  in  Turkey,  which  have  been  suppressed  by  the  war,  shall  bo  put  in 
force  again,  excepting  those  clauses  which  will  be  affected  by  the  present  document. 
The  two  Governments  will  be  reinstated  as  regards  their  mutual  relations,  for  all  their 
undertakings — commercial  and  otherwise — in  the  same  situation  in  which  they  were 
placed  before  the  declaration  of  war. 

24.  The  Bosporus  and  Dardanelles  will  remain  open  in  time  of  war  as  in  time  of 
peace,  to  the  merchant  vessels  of  neutral  States  arriving  from  Russian  ports  or  proceed- 
ing to  those  ports.    The  Sublime  Porte  undertakes  in  consequence  not  to  establish 
henceforth  in  the  ports  of  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Sea  of  Azov  a  fictitious  blockade,  which 
shall  depart  from  the  spirit  of  the  Declaration  of  Paris  of  1856. 

25.  The  complete  evacuation  by  the  Russian  army  of  European  Turkey,  with  the 
exception  of  Bulgaria,  shall  take  place  within  a  period  of  three  months  from  the  defin- 
itive conclusion  of  peace  between  his  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Russia  and  his  Majesty 
the  Sultan.    In  order  to  save  time,  and  to  avoid  the  prolonged  maintenance  of  Russian 
troops  in  Turkey  and  Rumania,  a  portion  of  the  Imperial  army  may  proceed  to  the  ports 
of  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Sea  of  Marmora  for  embarkation  in  vessels  belonging  to  the 
Russian  Government,  or  freighted  for  the  occasion.    The  evacuation  of  Asiatic  Turkey 
shall  be  effected  within  the  space  of  six  months,  dating  from  the  definitive  conclusion  of 
peace,  and  the  Russian  troops  shall  be  at  liberty  to  embark  at  Trebizond,  to  return  by 
the  Caucasus  or  by  the  Crimea.    The  operations  for  the  evacuation  shall  commence 
immediately  after  the  exchange  of  the  ratifications. 

26.  As  long  as  the  Russian  troops  remain  in  the  localities  which — according  to  the 
present  document — will  be  restored  to  the  Sublime  Porte,  the  administration  and  order 
of  things  shall  remain  in  the  same  state  as  since  the  occupation.    The  Sublime  Porte 
shall  take  no  part  in  it  during  this  time,  and  until  the  entire  departure  no  Ottoman 
troops  shall  enter  the  localities  restored  to  the  Sublime  Porte.    The  latter  shall  not 
commence  to  exercise  its  authority  there  until,  as  each  town  and  province  shall  have 
been  evacuated  by  the  Russian  troops,'  the  commander  of  those  troops  shall  have  given 
information  to  the  officer  appointed  f o.r  this  purpose  by  the  Sublime  Porte. 

27.  The  Sublime  Porte  undertakes  not  to  treat  rigorously  in  any  way,  or  allow  to  be 
so  treated,  Ottoman  subjects  who  have  been  compromised  by  their  relations  with  the 
Russian  army  during  the  war.    In  case  any  persons  may  wish  to  depart  with  their  fam- 
ilies by  following  the  Russian  troops,  the  Ottoman  authorities  shall  not  oppose  their 
departure. 

28.  Immediately  after  the  ratification  of  the  preliminaries  of  peace  the  prisoners  of 
war  shall  be  reciprocally  restored  through  the  agency  of  special  commissioners  named 
on  each  side,  who  shall  proceed  for  that  purpose  to  Odessa  and  Sebastopol.    The  Otto- 
man Government  shall  pay  all  the  expenses  of  the  support  of  the  restored  prisoners  in 

38 


692  APPENDIX  II. 

eighteen  equal  installments,  within  the  period  of  six  years,  according  to  the  accounts 
which  shall  be  substantiated  by  the  above-mentioned  commissioners.  The  exchange  of 
prisoners  between  the  Ottoman  Government  and  the  Governments  of  Rumania,  Servia, 
and  Montenegro  shall  take  place  upon  the  same  bases ;  deducting,  however,  from  the 
account  to  be  drawn  up,  the  number  of  prisoners  restored  by  the  Ottoman  Government 
from  the  number  of  prisoners  which  they  will  receive  in  return. 

29.  The  present  document  will  be  ratified  by  their  Majesties,  the  Emperor  of  Russia 
and  the  Emperor  of  the  Ottomans,  and  ratifications  will  be  exchanged  in  fifteen  days,  or 
sooner,  if  possible,  at  St.  Petersburg,  or  both  place  and  time  may  be  agreed  upon,  at 
which  the  stipulations  of  the  present  document  may  be  invested  with  the  solemn  forms 
used  in  treaties  of  peace.  It  remains  well  understood,  however,  that  the  high  contract- 
ing parties  consider  themselves  formally  bound  by  the  present  document  from  the 
moment  of  its  ratification,  in  faith  of  which  the  respective  plenipotentiaries  have  put 
their  hand  and  seal  to  the  present  document. 

Given  at  San  Stefano,  February  19  (March  3),  1878. 

COUNT  IGNATIEFF. 

SA.VFET. 

NELIDOFF. 

SADOOLAH. 


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